This is Growing Up
by hubluhbluhbluhbleh
Summary: Lucas Friar is a star boxer looking for a tough opponent for a charity match in the ring. His daughter's ballet teacher is someone he's known and loved since he was a teenager. How will his feelings and the blonde beauty's relationship with his angry opponent affect him? Well... read it.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey guys! Hope you guys like this! It will be cute and sweet and heart-wrenching and every other emotion that could be felt (at least I hope so). Much love!**_

 _ **The characters are grown up and their lives are still changing.**_

* * *

The alarm clock's beeping wakes Lucas Friar from his deep slumber. He rubs the blurriness out of his eyes and looks at the bright red numbers on the clock beside his bed.

 _9:30 a.m._

It's time to start getting ready for the day. Lucas sits up and yawns, stretching in the process. He stands up and makes his way to the bathroom, flipping on the light switch, which adds light to the very dark apartment. He looks at his tired sea-foam colored eyes in the mirror, and he, then, grabs his toothbrush. After he is done brushing his teeth, he grabs a shower.

He ran the wash cloth over his bruised ribs, wincing due to the pain. His muscles ache because of the night before. His opponent was a tough one to beat. But being a boxer comes with a price. A price he was willing to pay to make a living. Lucas was a newbie to boxing, but he wasn't a horrible fighter. He hasn't lost any of his ten matches so far, which is pretty impressive, considering the fact that the only fighting Lucas had ever done was a long time ago in the sixth grade.

He climbs out of the shower and dries off. He changes into a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. He had a day off from training today; however, he still had a press conference to go to. He was going to take advantage of it. He wanted to relax on this Saturday morning. But he didn't want to do it alone.

"Hey, baby girl. It is time to wake up! Come on, sweet heart! Open those beautiful eyes of yours," Lucas says.

The matching sea-foam colored eyes flutter open. A large grin appears on her face when she sees who wakes her up. Her sandy blonde hair is a mess from a full night of slumber, and Lucas is still so mesmerized from how adorable his four year old daughter is.

"Morning daddy," She says, sitting up in her small bed. Lucas smiles and gives his little girl a hug.

"Good morning, Sadie."

Sadie Elizabeth Friar was born in April, the year that Lucas graduated from high school. He was only seventeen years old when his girlfriend, at the time, told him that she was pregnant. Lucas wasn't too proud that he had gotten a girl pregnant before he even finished school, but as time went by, he got really excited. He and his girlfriend were on good terms, until she told Lucas that she didn't want anything to do with their daughter. That was when things went a little downhill for him. He was eighteen years old with a newborn baby, and he was left all alone. He got help from his friends. Riley, Zay, and Farkle were very reliable whenever he needed them to be there. But there was one person who stuck by him. She was there through the harsh, fussy nights, diaper changes, feedings, burpings. Everything.

But she had left them too. Lucas thought that she wanted to stay with him and help him with Sadie. It was until, she got accepted a very prestigious art school. He hasn't seen her since.

It's been four years since he has seen or heard of any of his friends from middle and high school.

"Are you hungry?" Lucas asks.

Sadie nods, "Is Emma here yet?" She asks about her babysitter.

Lucas shakes his head, "Emma is not coming today. It's you and me, squirt."

The way Sadie's face lit up when he told her that he was, basically, staying home today make Lucas's heart smile. He loved seeing his little girl happy. He don't know what he would do if she were to hate him.

Lucas picks Sadie up from her bed and carries her to their kitchen. He sets her down on the counter and tells her not to move from that spot until he tells her to. Sadie is a good child, and very smart for her age. She can feel when something is too dangerous for her and uses her instincts not to do anything that will get her hurt.

Lucas makes them a quick breakfast, and they eat together in their living room while watching cartoons.

"Sadie. What would you like to do today?" Lucas asks.

"Daddy, I have to go to dance class today! Remember?" She asked. Lucas wondered where Sadie had gotten her sass from.

Lucas smiles and nods, "Of course! How foolish of me. Will you forgive me princess?"

Sadie nods with a grin on her face, "Well, I guess I have to since it's the princess thing to do."

Sadie is Lucas's whole world. He can't believe how anyone would not want to be around someone this sweet and adorable. Sadie's kindness is beyond this world, and she can make friends with anyone in a heartbeat.

"What time does ballet start?" He asks.

"11 o'clock. Are you gonna come watch me today, daddy?" Sadie asks.

"I'm sorry sweetie. I would love to watch you dance, but I have a press conference to go to," He responds. He watches Sadie's face fall, and his breaks his heart.

"Tell you what. I'm going to drop you off and pick you up today, and then we can go to the park. Does that sound okay with you?" Lucas asks, hoping that her pouty lips turn into a smile. Lucky for him, they do when she nods.

"Okay, well you better get ready kiddo, you're going to be late!" Lucas says. Sadie jumps off the couch and runs to her room. Lucas goes to the laundry room and grabs his daughter's leotard.

She yells as she comes running through the hallway, "Daddy! Do you know where my-" She stops and grabs the leotard from Lucas's hands. He laughs as she runs back to her room.

Sadie has gotten a lot of her traits from Lucas. His eyes, hair color, nose. But she has an extra toe on her left foot. Lucas remembers buying custom-made ballet slippers right after Sadie told him she wanted to start ballet. She never wanted to take those shoes off. But he was happy that she was passionate about something at a young age.

His daughter comes running out of her room with a scrunchy in her hand, "Daddy? Can you help me put my hair up in a bun, please?" She asks.

After a lot of practice, Lucas finally mastered the ballet bun that his daughter asked him to put in her hair. It was difficult to do when she would asked him to do it for the first time, but once Emma showed him how she had done it, it became a whole lot easier.

"Thank you daddy! Let me get my slippers, and I'll be ready!" She yelled.

It was chilly outside, so Lucas grabbed her tiny gray sweater. He remembers how sick she got that one time he didn't make her put a sweater on.

The small girl comes back to her father, and he quickly helps her put on her sweater. Hey grabs his keys, and the two of them leave their home.

* * *

The ballet studio smelled like fruit and lavender. Lucas sets his daughter down on her feet and she immediately runs over to her friends.

"Sadie!" He calls for her, acting like he was offended that she just ran away from him.

She giggles and runs back to him, "Sorry daddy," She apologizes, giving him a hug and a peck on his cheek, "Bye, love you!"

"Love you too sweetie! Have fun, and I'll be back soon!" He responds. As he is turning around, he is stopped by a woman. He turns around and immediately recognizes her.

"Wow! Long time, no see, huh Huckleberry?" Said the girl. The girl who had helped him when Sadie was a newborn. The girl he had hoped would never leave him.

"Maya?"

* * *

 _ **Hope you guys liked it! I plan on writing more of this soon, if you guys really want it.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey! Thank you to everyone who read and liked the first chapter! I'm glad that y'all think it's cute so far. Trust me, there will be plenty more of the father-daughter moments to come. Hope y'all enjoy this next chapter!  
**_

* * *

"Wow! Long time, no see, huh Huckleberry?" Said the girl. The girl who had helped him when Sadie was a newborn. The girl he had hoped would never leave him.

"Maya?"

He walks over to her to give her a hug. God, she still takes his breath away. She always has. Lucas can't believe that she is standing in front of him again. After thinking for such a long time that he would never see her again, here she is.

"I can't believe it's you!" Maya says, "The last time I saw you, you were a confused fath-. Wait."

Maya pauses and looks around her dance studio at the young girls who were starting to stretch. Her eyes catch the blonde haired green eyed girl, and she gasps, covering her mouth. Maya turns back to Lucas and points towards Sadie.

"Is that her? She's really not a baby anymore?" Maya asks. Lucas nods. He knows how attached Maya was to Sadie when she was an infant.

"That's my little girl. She get more and more beautiful everyday, so it's a shock to me too," Lucas responds.

Maya's eyes were glossy with tears. She remembers staying at Lucas's apartment overnight right after Sadie was born. She would look after Sadie while Lucas went to take a well-needed nap. She can remember Sadie's tiny fingers gripping her pointer finger. Sadie was a beautiful baby, and she is, now, a beautiful little girl. How could she not have noticed Sadie when she first walked in this morning?

"So," Lucas starts again, "You're a dance teacher?"

"Yea. I am. It was something that I had gotten into during college," Maya responds. Lucas wasn't surprised. Maya has always been very talented in the arts. It makes sense that she would be a great dancer as well.

Lucas scratches the back of his neck, "Look, I've got a press conference I have to get to soon, but Sadie and I planned on going to park after she was done here, if you want to join us?"

Maya smiles, "I would love to do that."

* * *

Lucas steps out of his car and locks it. He walks into the building where he is holding a press conference. Lucas has had tough opponents in the past, but he was ready for someone who would give him a run for his money. He is bombarded by cameras as he enters the building, and his manager, Nick.

Nick was a friend that Lucas met at college. Lucas was in college when his mother retired and was able to watch Sadie while he was gone. Lucas and Nick were in the same business class. A boy in that same class was talking badly about how Lucas was a father at such a young age, and Lucas lost his cool. Nick was impressed with how strong Lucas was, so he started helping Lucas train for boxing. Lucas hired Nick as his manager, and they are rising stars in the sports world.

Nick and Lucas make their way to the stage. Lucas stands at the podium and waits for the crowd of sportscasters to get silent. The only thing he hears before he speaks are the shutter sounds of cameras from the paparazzi.

"I am holding this press conference to issue an open challenge," He pauses, "To anyone who wants to fight me in the ring. I have a lot of respect for every single one of my opponents, and they are tough people. But, I want to have a legendary match, that people will talk about for a very long time. I want my opponent for this match to be someone who can hold his own. Someone who doesn't even know the definition of "give up". I want someone who, after the match, whoever wins, will come up to me and shake my hand. Someone else who wants to be apart of the history books with me."

Lucas didn't know if anyone was taking him seriously or not. Lucas didn't know if any boxer wanted to be apart of his "legendary" match or not.

"I'll take questions now."

Lucas points to a man holding a recorder in his hand, "Lucas, how do you expect this match to be legendary?"

"I plan on making this a legendary match by changing the stipulations to extraordinary proportions. Longer round times, different rules, and a whole lot of advertising. I haven't thought about the rules that I want to change yet, but I assure you that this will be a match that no one will forget," Lucas responds, as he points to a woman with her hand up.

"Mr. Friar, there have been rumors going around that you want to do this match for charity as well, care to comment? If so, which charity do you plan on representing?" The woman asks.

"Um, to answer your first question, yes. I do plan on donating all the money that we make from this match up to charity. To answer your second question, I have decided to split the money between several different charities and donating the money myself. I haven't decided which charities I have decided to donate the proceeds to yet, but I will hold another press conference after I do decide," Lucas answers. He glances at Nick before someone calls his attention.

"Lucas Friar. I have a question," said the voice a familiar rookie boxer. Tony Espinoza. Tony is the talk of the sports world, besides Lucas, himself. He is a great boxer, and Lucas thinks that he will be the perfect opponent.

"Yes?" Lucas smirks.

"How would you like to know who your opponent is going to be right now?" Tony asks.

"Enlighten me."

"Let me say it in two words," Tony says, "Challenge accepted."

* * *

Sadie runs to her father and jumps into his arms, "Hey daddy! Are you ready to go to the park?"

Lucas smiles and nods, "I'm ready, but you gotta go get changed right quick. Go change, and I'm going to talk to your teacher." Sadie jumps down to her feet and scurries off to the bathroom with her backpack with clothes she can change in to.

Maya walks up to Lucas and stares at him.

"What?" He asks.

Maya shrugs, "Nothing. I just miss seeing how you are with her. It makes me happy."

Lucas loved hearing that. He remembers how much she tried to be happy in middle and high school, but life would throw another stone at her. Seeing Maya happy was something that Lucas always loved seeing. Her joy was infectious, and when she genuinely smiled, he couldn't help but smile too.

Sadie comes running back from the bathroom in jeans, a t-shirt, and some converses. She looked so adorable like that. Lucas picks her up in his arms.

"You guys ready to go?" He asks.

"Is Madame Hart coming to the park with us too?" Sadie asks.

"Yes, I am. And when we're not in my studio, it's okay if you call me Maya," Maya responds. The way Sadie's face lights up makes Maya's heart swell. The three of them walk to the parking lot. Lucas buckles Sadie in her car seat before he opens the door to the driver's seat and climbs into his car. Maya already buckled up beside him.

"The park isn't that far, so if you can't stay long, then it's okay. I can drive us back here quickly so you can-" Lucas started rambling.

"Lucas, I am my own boss. I have plenty of time."

* * *

Sadie runs past them to play on the swings and Lucas and Maya take a seat next to each other on a bench. The two of them watch Sadie go back and forth on the seat and the wind is blowing her bun everywhere.

"So. You're a professional boxer?" Maya asks. Lucas nods before she goes on, "What happened to rodeo clown, cowboy?"

Lucas laughs, "I didn't even know I wanted to be a boxer. I had my heart set on being a veterinarian, but things change. I just needed the money. I didn't expect to make this my career."

"Well, if it means anything to you, I think you're a pretty great boxer," Maya responds.

Lucas nods, "Thank you, Maya. A lot of people think that it's ridiculous that I'm a boxer when I still a small child at home."

"Those people don't know how much you love her. As long as you know, and she knows, how much you love her, then who cares what those other people have to say?"

Maya makes a good point, but it's not just that. He can't walk down the street with his daughter without people calling him a bad father. Sadie get so angry when she hears people call her daddy that. She always reassures him that he is "the best daddy in the world", which always makes Lucas feel a little bit better. Lucas just worries that his daughter will be taken away from him. If he loses Sadie, then he will have nothing.

"Thank you for inviting me here with you and her. I know it was supposed to be just the two of you," Maya says.

"Hey don't worry about it. I've never seen Sadie's face light up that much when she found out that you were coming with us. I guess that means she still really adores you," Lucas responds.

"I still can't believe how big she's gotten."

"Yea. I can't believe it either."

* * *

Lucas tucks Sadie into her bed and kisses her forehead.

"Daddy?" She calls.

"What? Is everything okay?" Lucas asks, concerned.

"I just wanted to tell you I had a fun day with you and Maya," Sadie says. Lucas smiles.

"I had a fun day with you too sweetie."

He turns her lamp off and turns her night light on. She is snuggled up to her pillow with her eyes closed, and Lucas just watches her for a minute. He is still sometimes shocked that Sadie is a part of him. How much his life has changed in four years, but he wouldn't want it any other way.

* * *

 _ **Okay! Hope you guys liked it! I promise things will be heating up and blowing up soon. ;)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey guys! Thanks to those of you who keep reading, and I hope that I am writing this story to its full potential. Love you guys! Whose ready for this next chapter?  
**_

 _ **I just want to give a shout out to Maddyliza1234 for giving me a really great idea that I am excited about playing around with. You guys want jealous Lucas? Don't worry, he'll show up soon.**_

 _ **Hope yall like it!**_

* * *

Lucas places his earbuds in his ears, putting his music on full blast, and starts training. Now that he has an opponent for his match, he needs to start training already.

He wraps the tape around his hands and begins to punch the punching bag. He is training in his own home in the room that he decided would be good enough for him to practice boxing, and Sadie can practice ballet. He's very focused on where he's hitting the bag. He closes his eyes and imagines that he's in the match against Tony Espinoza. He's been watching some matches that Tony has been in and is studying him carefully.

He hears his music getting louder, and it begins to sound like the crowd cheering in his ears instead of the guitar. He's going at that bag pretty hard. He really wants to win the match.

In his head, he is winning the match. He's imagining that he's winning with his eyes closed. Then he imagines Maya in the crowd.

She is in the front row watching, and cheering for him. Her blue eyes are beaming with joy as she has Sadie on her lap. His little girl looks the opposite of Maya, though. Sadie looks terrified, and Lucas gets scared that it's him that she is scared of.

Lucas punches the bag at a rapid pace. He's releasing all of his frustrations right now. And in his head, everybody is gone, because of his career. Or maybe it's because he's gone from everyone else, because of his career.

Lucas stops his fists. He takes out his ear buds and is trying to catch his breath. He walks over and takes a drink of water from his water bottle. He closes his eyes again to take a deep breath and try to calm down a little bit. He unravels the tape from his hands and grabs a jump rope off the wall. He places his earbuds back into his ears and jumps.

He's jumping rope for a long time but stops when he sees his little girl walk in the gym with her baby sitter. He stops jumping and smiles. She runs over to him and gives him a big hug.

"Hey daddy!" Sadie greets him.

"Hey sweetie," Lucas responds. He picks her up and walks over to Sadie's baby sitter, Emma.

"Thank you for watching her today. Let me grab my check book, and I'll let you be on your way," Lucas says, but Emma stops him before he does.

"Mr. Friar, I need to tell you something." Emma begins. Lucas nods at her, telling her to go ahead, "Well, I was going to tell you this yesterday, but you gave me the day off yesterday. It's really hard to tell you this because I love working for you and taking care of Sadie, but there is a time in everyone's life where they have to move on. I have gotten a really great opportunity to go and live out a huge dream of mine. I really hope that this is okay. I just wanted to let you know because I absolutely adore Sadie, and I'm not gonna lie, I love getting your paychecks," Emma continues to ramble.

"Emma, slow down," Lucas stops her, "I am very proud of you. I want you to go out in the world and live your dreams. Sadie and I will miss you, but everything is okay between us. Let me still pay you," Lucas say writing out a very large check.

Emma's eyes almost explode out of her head, "Mr. Friar, I couldn't accept this-"

"Why not?" Lucas asks, "I think you deserve every penny. Good luck out in the world. I'll see you around, and don't go spend all that money in one place."

"Thank you, Mr. Friar," Emma waves good bye to him and walks over to Sadie. He watches her tell Sadie that she couldn't babysit her anymore, and he's thinking about who he could get to babysit Sadie now. His mom? She's already babysat for him for a long time while he was supposed to be going to school again, and now he's beating people up for a lot of money. He couldn't ask Maya because she's got a dance studio and sees Sadie most of the day anyway.

Now he has to add looking for a daycare service to his list of things to do.

* * *

Lucas invites Maya over to his home to help him with his predicament. She knocks on the door of his penthouse, and the look she has on her face makes Lucas chuckle.

"Hello Maya. Thanks for coming over to help me," He says.

"This is where you live?"

"Nope, that's why I called you here. The cops are after me!" Lucas jokes. Maya rolls her eyes and playfully shoves him. He laughs and shuts the door behind her after she walks in. He's pretty sure he hears her mutter something like 'lame joke' under her breath as she walks past him, but he doesn't care.

"Where is Sadie at?" Maya asks.

"She's asleep," Lucas responds and pauses for a moment before he continues, "You know she's been sleeping a lot here lately. I don't know. It's kinda weird. She's usually a ball of energy."

"She's four, she needs a lot of sleep," Maya responds.

"Well yea, but she's been coming home, extremely tired. And when I check up on her during the night, I can hear her mutter something along the lines of 'no more pirouettes Ms. Hart, please'? I'm getting really worried."

"Lucas Friar! You've known me forever. I would never work a child to the point where they were exhausted!" She responds, hitting his arm. Lucas laughs again, "I'm glad you're finding your own jokes funny. God knows, no one else will laugh at them."

Lucas can't stop smiling. The two of them walk to the kitchen and Maya sits at the bar. Lucas walks behind the bar.

"You gonna offer me a drink, or what?" Maya asks.

Lucas smirks and grabs water and apple juice, "What would you like?" Maya's eyebrow furrows, and she forgets that he has a kid for a few seconds. She grabs the apple juice and opens the cap, taking a sip of the refreshing beverage.

"I still can't believe you live here. Seems to me, like you are doing pretty well for yourself and Sadie," Maya says.

"Yea," Lucas pauses, "It wasn't easy. I had to pay Emma extra to keep Sadie occupied and away from a television while my matches were on."

"She's proud of her father, I can tell you that. She talks the world of you when you aren't around us. I can't say the same for myself," Maya confesses.

"Have you talked to your father anymore since middle school?" Lucas asks.

Maya nods, "I talked to him for a little while, and I even met my little half brother. Well, he tried to mess with my mother again while he had another family, and I told him to step off. Which, just like my parents, led to an argument. And I haven't seen or heard from him since."

Lucas feels bad for Maya. She is such an amazing person to be around, and she doesn't even know it because she's been abandoned so many times, which Lucas could relate to.

"Okay, so lets begin. I brought a few phone books because I know that you didn't know that phone books even exist. I've highlighted a few daycare centers that I've heard were great facilities and others that are cheap facilities, but since I see that money is not a problem for you, I will just ignore those," Maya begins. She hands him a list of half the daycare centers and she takes the other half, and they begin to call.

"Hello. I am calling to ask if you are accepting anymore children? My daughter's babysitter had to quit, and I am stumped. My daughter is very well behaved, she gets along with everybody, and she cleans up after herself... Oh... okay. It's no problem. Sorry for wasting your time," Lucas says hanging up the phone. This happens to both him and Maya for a while.

"I don't have anymore people to call. Are there really this many children in New York?" Lucas says making Maya snicker.

"Oh wait a minute. There is one here that I accidentally skipped over," Maya says, looking at the name. She freezes.

"What? What is it?" Lucas asks.

"Look at this name."

* * *

"Daddy, do I really have to go to daycare? I want Emma back," Sadie says.

"No, sweetie, you're not going today, but I do plan on enrolling you here if you like it. That's why we're here. I want to see if you like it before I put you in a place where you don't feel comfortable," Lucas explains.

"Daddy? When are you gonna get time off again? I wanna spend more time with you," Sadie confesses.

"Trust me baby girl, I will take a long time off after my next match. And I will spend a lot of time at home with you while I get ready for the next match. This daycare center is just for those days where you can be watched when I do have to go to work," Lucas explains some more.

He looks at his little girl in the rear view mirror, and she's smiling, like always.

"Daddy? I don't like it when you get hurt," Sadie says.

Lucas knows that him being hurt sometimes isn't good for Sadie. He remembers calling Emma after he gotten beaten pretty badly. He was in so much pain, but he didn't want his daughter to know that he was hurt. He should've known that she knows that he is hurt. Sadie is very intelligent for her age.

"I don't like it either sweetheart."

Lucas pulls into a parking place. He turns the car off and looks at his girl, "You ready munchkin?" He asks. She nods her head, and Lucas get out to unbuckle her from her car seat. He lifts her up and sets her on the ground. She holds onto his hand, and they make their way into the daycare center.

The colors on the walls really popped. There were tons of bright and fun colors, and the sound of small children laughing could be heard from the inside of one room. Lucas stops at the door and peaks into the window to see the two daycare workers walking around, looking at the children painting. He brings his fist up to knock on the door.

The brunette female opens the door with her award winning smile, "Lucas Friar."

"Riley Matthews...Minkus." Lucas responds, giving her a hug.

* * *

Riley and Lucas are taking a tour of the daycare center. Sadie is looking around and holding on to Lucas's hand very tightly.

"I still can't believe how big she has gotten," Riley says.

"I know. I still can't believe it myself. I also can't believe that you married Farkle," Lucas confesses, "I was sure you had Charlie Gardner wrapped around your finger for life, in high school."

"Well, I just found out that Charlie wasn't the guy for me. I don't even remember how things between Farkle and me began. All I know is that I am very happy with him, and I am happy to own this daycare center with him," Riley explains.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your plans? Farkle's plans? What made you want to open up a daycare center instead?" Lucas asked.

Riley's face fell, and she sighed, "After Farkle and I got married, we wanted to start a family. We kept trying to get pregnant, and finally, one day, I found out that I was expecting a child."

Lucas could feel where this story was going as Riley sighs again, "God, the look on his face when he found out that I was pregnant. I've never seen him that happy. That was the last time I saw him happy for a long time. My pregnancy took a turn for the worse, and I lost him. We went through a very dark period of time, and if it weren't for our parents? We probably wouldn't have made it. That's why we opened our daycare center. We love these kids so much, and we will love Sadie just as much. Just as much as we did before."

"Riley, first, I wanted to say, that I am so sorry for what happened to you and Farkle. And second, thank you. I know Sadie will be in amazing care here, and I know she will grow to love you again," Lucas says.

Riley smiles down at Sadie and sees so much of Lucas in her. Not just physically, but emotionally too, and Riley can't wait to start taking care of her again.

"Thank you so much for meeting me and accepting Sadie here. I don't know what I would do without you guys. If it weren't for Maya, I would still be looking for a babysitter," Lucas says.

"Maya? You've seen Maya again?" Riley asks.

Lucas doesn't realize it, but he's blushing as he nods, "Yea. Sadie started taking ballet classes with her, and we've been catching up ever since I dropped Sadie off for the first time the other day. And don't expect me to try not to catch up with you guys either."

"Are you guys smitten for each other?" Riley teases. Lucas laughs and shrugs his shoulders.

"I don't think she'll ever have the feelings for me like she used to, but I don't blame her. I got into some pretty bad stuff in high school, and I know that I hurt her. I wish I could take everything back that I did to her," Lucas confesses.

"She still cares about you. I haven't talked to her since Farkle and I lost our baby, but I know she still cares about us. All of us," Riley says looking at Sadie who is staring at the painting on the wall.

There was a long moment of silence between the two of them. They were watching Sadie explore the hallway and look at the drawings that were hanging up. Things have changed so much. But that's growing up.

"Thanks, Lucas. For making me ready," Riley says.

"Ready for what?"

"For falling in love with Farkle."

* * *

 _ **Hope you guys liked this chapter! I know there isn't a lot of Lucaya in it, but I promise there will be in the next chapter. :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hi guys! Thank yall so much for liking this story. I never expected this kind of reaction, but I love it, and I love yall!  
**_

 _ **Hope yall like it!**_

 _ **I also just want to give a shout out to Maddyliza1234 for the idea for this chapter. I really appreciate it!**_

* * *

Lucas wakes up early this morning. He grabs a quick shower and watches a little bit of television before he wakes Sadie up. Lucas has another press conference today to discuss the stipulations of the match against Tony Espinoza, and he needs to look over his notes before he gets up on the podium again.

"Wake up sweetheart. We gotta get you ready for ballet class," Lucas says.

"Five more minutes daddy, please," Sadie says turning away from Lucas. Lucas chuckles. He knows what will get her out of bed.

"Okay. But if you're not ready to get up in five minutes. I'm gonna have to give someone a call," Lucas says with a smile on his face. His daughter ignoring his adorable threats and sleeping away. Lucas doesn't want to wake her up, but today is an important day for him.

While he is giving her five more minutes of sleep, he is packing extra clothes, an extra pair of shoes, and a sweater into Sadie's small backpack. He lays it on the counter where the front door is, and he walks back into Sadie's room. He sits down beside her on her bed and attempts to wake her up again.

"Sadie, you've got to get ready. Get up sweetie," Lucas says.

"Daddy. I know you're a boxer, and you like to wake up early, but does that really mean I have to?" Sadie asks. Lucas loves her questions like that. He loves how the parts of the questions she asks don't make a lick of sense. Like, what does him being a boxer have to do with him waking up early? Not all boxers wake up at 4:30 a.m. Although, Lucas has done that before, he doesn't do it everyday.

"Okay," Lucas begins, "I guess I'm going to have to make that call."

"Go ahead, Daddy," Sadie says. She's sassier than normal this morning.

Lucas holds his hand up to his ear, pretending that he's talking into a phone, and begins talking, "Hello? Hi! This is Sadie Friar's father? Oh yea, she's ready for you this morning. Oh? Okay I'll tell her. Thank you, Mr. Tickle Monster."

Lucas sees Sadie's eyes shoot open, and he can't help but laugh.

"Did you say, tickle monster?" Sadie asks.

"No," Lucas answers, "I said Mr. Tickle Monster!" Lucas yells and begins to tickle Sadie. Her laughter is contagious, and he continues tickling her until she can't help herself anymore.

"You ready to get up? You're gonna be late for ballet, and I was thinking after ballet, you can come with me to my press conference," Lucas says. They hear a knock on Sadie's door, and they both turn their heads at the same time.

"Actually, Lucas. Ballet class is cancelled today," Maya says with a grin.

"Maya? How did you get into our house?" Lucas asks.

"Don't worry Huck. I found your spare key," Maya explains before continuing with, "You might want to change your hiding place."

As Maya and Lucas are waiting for Sadie to get ready, they start talking about the plan for the day.

"I promised Sadie she could come to my press conference after she was done at your ballet class. The press conference starts at noon, and I would appreciate it if both of you could be there," Lucas says.

"Okay. We'll be there. I've got to be there anyway, so I can watch Sadie while you make your announcement," She responds. Lucas nods and then takes note of what she said. _'I've got the be there anyway..."_ What does she mean by that?

"Wait," Lucas says,"What do you mean, 'you've got to be there anyway'?"

"Oh, well my boyfriend has to be there, so I'm going to be there with him too."

* * *

"Boyfriend? Since when does she have a boyfriend?" Lucas asks, talking to himself, "I mean, she's a beautiful woman, so I didn't expect her to be single, but I had hoped that she was single. Who is her boyfriend anyway? Why is here?"

"Lucas. I'm sorry, but I have no idea who you're talking about!" Nick, Lucas's manager says.

Lucas's face turns red as he responds, "Sorry. I'm just thinking about someone important."

"The only important person you need to be thinking about right now, is Tony Espinoza. This guy is pretty tough, so take notice of any weaknesses that he may have while you two are talking about this fight," Nick explains. Lucas nods and puts Maya in the back of his brain.

Nick walks out to the podium to begin the press conference.

"Good evening, and thank you for coming out tonight. I am here to introduce my client who will be boxing the match of his life. Along with Mr. Espinoza, I have no doubt that this will be one of the most memorable matches in all of boxing history. My client has came up with the stipulations of this match and has run them by Mr. Espinoza, which will be discussed by my client right now," Nick finishes.

Lucas walks on stage and shakes Nick's hand before pulling him into a hug.

"You've got this. Go blow their minds," Nick whispers. Lucas nods and takes his place behind the podium.

"I called another press conference to discuss the stipulation of my match against Tony Espinoza. I have run my ideas passed him, and we have both agreed to the conditions of the match," Lucas explains. He looks out into the crowd of reporters and paparazzi to see Maya and Sadie. Maya is holding Sadie's hand, and Sadie smiles and waves at her daddy.

Lucas smiles back at her before continuing, "The stipulations for the match are drastically changed, but Mr. Espinoza and I have agreed to sign on to this match. We will have three rounds lasting three minutes each with a three minute break in between. All jabs are legal. We will have paramedics at the ringside if one of us ends up seriously injured. The winner will be determined like one is during a normal match. I will now take any questions."

The reporters raise their hands, and Lucas picks one out of the crowd.

"During the last press conference, you said that you were donating all of the proceeds from this match to a variety of charities. Have you decided which charities you are going to donate to?" The woman asked.

"Yes, I have. I have decided to donate an equal portion of the proceeds to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Room to Grow, the Cancer Research Society, Make-A-Wish, and The Dream Foundation," Lucas replies before he points to a man on the other side of the room.

"Mr. Friar, are you not nervous about Mr. Espinoza's anger issues? He fights violently and uses his anger issues as a weapon in the ring." The man asked.

Lucas smirks because the media doesn't know a thing about "Texas Lucas". Lucas has never brought him out during a match because he never had to. He doesn't think he'll have to during his match with Tony either.

"No. I am not worried at all. Sorry if I come off as rude, but I don't think Mr. Espinoza's anger issues are any of our business anyway," Lucas responds. He looks around the crowd for another hand, but no one has their hand up.

"I have a question," The voice of his opponent surprises him.

"Yes?" Lucas says, ready to answer.

"You have a daughter right?" Tony asks.

Lucas nods and looks at Sadie and Maya, "Yes. I do. She's here with me today, and I couldn't be any happier that she is."

"How is she going to feel seeing her pathetic father laying in the middle of the ring, beaten to a pulp? Aren't you worried about her?"

Tony is trying to get under Lucas's skin. Lucas bites his tongue before he says something on live television that wouldn't be appropriate for the viewers or his daughter.

"My daughter knows how dangerous my job can be, but she is supportive of me like I am of her. I love my daughter, and she knows that," Lucas answers. He didn't realize that Sadie had run up on stage until after she tugged on his jeans. Lucas picks her up in his arms, and she cuddles her head in his neck.

"Aww, that's sweet. You have a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if she had to grow up without her father," Tony starts, "Watch your back."

At this point, Nick rushes up to podium as Lucas and Sadie make their way to the back away from the reporters and paparazzi. He hugs her tightly and rubs her back.

"Daddy? Are you going to be okay?" Sadie asks.

Lucas sighs, "I'm going to be fine, princess. That man is just saying mean things like that for entertainment purposes," He lied. He didn't like lying to his daughter, but when it comes to this, he doesn't want her to worry about him.

"Don't ever do what that man just did okay? Never mistake kindness for weakness. There is nothing wrong with being kind, as long as no one ever tries to use it against you," Lucas explains to his daughter. She nods and hugs him again before waving at Maya.

"Hey, are you guys okay? I'm so sorry about what Tony said to you. He can be a little hot-headed," Maya says.

Lucas is confused but nods in response.

"So," Lucas begins awkwardly. He looks at Sadie, "Are you hungry?" He asks. Sadie nods, and Lucas looks at Maya, "Wanna join us?"

"I would but I-" Maya begins before she is interrupted by the voice of Lucas's opponent.

"Maya!" Tony calls for her. He walks up to the three of them and smirks, "Well well. Look at you. Making friends with my competition huh?"

"Tony, it's not what it looks like. Lucas and I have been friends since middle school. That's all we are."

Lucas is surprised that Maya is explaining herself to a man. He's never known Maya to explain herself to anybody let alone a man. She also seemed really nervous and stiff when he called her name. It makes sense to Lucas as to how she knows a lot about Tony.

"Let's go Maya," Tony demands. Maya nods and secretly waves goodbye to Lucas and Sadie. It all makes sense now.

Tony is Maya's boyfriend.

Lucas didn't like how he acted during the press conference towards him, and he certainly doesn't like how Tony treated Maya just now. And he really doesn't like how Maya responded.

He's got to keep an eye out for her.

* * *

 _ **Sorry this chapter took me so long to post. My laptop is broken, and I am swamped with school work. I hope to update faster than this and as soon as I can.**_

 _ **I hope this was a good chapter!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hello people! Hope y'all are ready for some angst because there will be a lot in this chapter!  
**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

Lucas stayed up all night thinking about how Maya is dating his opponent. Out of all the people she could be in a relationship with, it has to be Tony Espinoza? And Lucas did not take a liking to how Tony talked to her. She's not a dog to be ordered around.

He doesn't want to be bothered by it. He doesn't want to be upset that Maya is in a relationship. She is such a beautiful woman, of course she wouldn't be single. Lucas feels stupid for even thinking that he had a chance with Maya Hart. He had a chance with her back in high school, but he just broke her heart.

God, he is an idiot.

"Daddy?" Lucas sits up and looks at his four year old standing in his doorway. She is clutching a blanket close to her, and Lucas automatically puts Maya in the back of his head.

"What's wrong, princess? What are you doing up?" He asks. His little girl runs over to him, and he helps her up onto his mattress.

"Are you happy?" Sadie asks.

Lucas's eyebrow furrowed in confusion, "I am very very happy. Sweetie, why would you think that I am not happy?"

Sadie shrugs her shoulders, "No reason."

"Now, Sadie. You know you can't lie to your daddy. It's wrong, and I can tell when you're lying anyway. What's the real reason? Did you hear someone say something?" Lucas asks.

"Yes. I heard one of the reporter ladies say that you looked very sad, and they said that it was my fault that you aren't happy," Sadie explains.

Lucas has to bite his tongue. He can't say any curse words in front of his daughter. He also has to stop Texas Lucas from coming out. His face is crimson with anger. Luckily, his lamp was the only thing lighting the room, and Sadie can't tell that he's furious.

"Sadie. Listen to me, because this is important. I am not sad. I am very happy, and the main reason for my happiness is you. You are my daughter, and I love you so much. Okay? Next time someone says something like that to you or about you, please tell me or Maya. Do you understand? Don't ever think that I am not happy because of you," Lucas explains.

Sadie nods before asking, "Is it okay if I sleep in here with you?"

Lucas smiles, "Of course it is squirt." Lucas responds before covering his daughter with his covers. He kisses her forehead before getting comfortable beside her and falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Lucas wakes up before his daughter. He takes a quick shower and cooks breakfast. When he is finished cooking, he walks into his bedroom and wakes Sadie up. Luckily for Lucas, she wasn't hard to wake up this morning. She must be excited about something.

"Okay, so I'm going to drop you off at ballet, and I am going to see if Maya can take you to Riley and Farkle's daycare center. Does that sound alright?" Lucas explains. Sadie nods; although, she would much rather have another day with her father.

"Why can't I ever come with you to the gym?" She asks.

Lucas couldn't think of something to tell her. He didn't want to tell her the reason. Lucas doesn't want Sadie around whenever he's at the gym because he unleashes Texas Lucas at the gym. That's one reason why he would rather take his anger out on the punching bag at the gym rather than anyone else.

"You won't have fun there. You can do a lot of fun things at the daycare center. Plus, there will be other children there as well," Lucas responds.

When it comes to making friends, Sadie is a professional. Lucas has no doubt that she will have a hard time making friends at the daycare center.

Lucas and Sadie leave their home and head towards Maya's dance studio. Lucas and Sadie walk inside to see the other girls stretching. They are all quiet. A few of them turn their heads to see Sadie, and they smile and wave.

"Why don't you go ahead and join the other girls. I'm going to talk to Madame Hart. Okay?" Lucas says. Sadie nods and takes her sweater and backpack off. She puts her stuff in a cubby and joins the other girls. Lucas sees Maya in her office talking on the phone. He walks back there and hears the last part of the conversation.

"No, there aren't any guys here... Can you please not yell at me?... Yes. Tony, please. Please. Will you just calm down?... Okay. I'm sorry... I'm sorry I raised my voice. I promise not to do it again. Tony... Hello? Hello?" Maya says before throwing her phone across her office. Lucas sees her run her hands through her hair, and can't help but notice a light-colored bruise on her wrist.

He knocks on the door and watches as she jumps, "Whoa. It's okay, it's just me," He says as he walks in her office and closes the door so that the girls can't hear what is going on.

"I'm sorry. Please tell me that you didn't see that," Maya responds.

"What would you do if I said that I did?" Lucas asks.

Maya groans, "I am so sorry. Please, don't think that I do that all the time, especially in front of these girls because I usually don't. I-"

"Maya," He interrupts, "It's okay. I trust you more than anyone in the world. I'm just worried about you."

"Nothing to be worried about. Everything is a-okay," Maya smiles. But Lucas knows better. He knows that something is up with her. He knows that it has to do with Tony.

"Really?" He asks, stepping closer to her. He takes her hand in his and looks at the bruise that he saw before he entered her office, "This is 'a-okay'?"

Lucas watches Maya's demeanor change instantaneously. She looks at him with a mixture of pain, anxiety, and anger. She takes her hand back and slaps him in the face with it.

"You don't know what you're talking about! You have no idea what is going on in my life right now! You don't even have a right to know! You can't just show up in my life again and expect to ease your way back into it like you did in high school! Last I checked, you didn't even want nothing to do with me after you got what you wanted!" Maya continues to yell at him.

Lucas isn't angry at her though. He knows that the only reason she is doing this is because of Tony. That son of a bitch. Lucas wishes he could get his hands on Tony right now. But he knows he needs to help Maya, first. So he pushes her on.

"You're getting mad! That's what you need to do! Get mad! Let me feel what he makes you feel every night!" Lucas fusses back.

"You know what Lucas! I don't even know why you need me in your life again. I'm stupid. Ugly. Good for nothing. I'm worthless."

"You know why I need you in my life, Maya?" He asks as he walks over to her window over-looking the girls practicing what they learned last week. Lucas lifts his pointer finger and points at Sadie, "That's the reason. My daughter. Sadie. She is the reason why I need you in my life. You have no idea how much she loves you. It's like she remembers how much she loved you when she was an infant. And you think you're worthless? You are far from it, Maya!"

The two look at each other and say nothing for a minute. Maya looks down at the bruise on her wrist and sighs.

"He's never done this before. I know he can get angry and say hurtful things, but couples fight. And he apologized to me this morning," Maya says. Lucas knows she's lying because he just heard their phone conversation.

"What about the phone conversation?" Lucas asks.

"He was having a rough commute. He just needed to let his anger out, and if that means that he yells at me, then so be it," Maya explains.

"Maya. You are not stupid. You know that he doesn't treat you right."

"Lucas! Can you please? Just leave? I don't need any advice on how to manage my relationship, especially from you," Maya retorts. Lucas clenches his fists and immediately stops.

"Okay. I deserve that. I just don't want you to get yourself into trouble," Lucas says.

"Lucas," Maya pauses and walks over to him, "You've known me for a long time. I always find a way to get myself into trouble. I don't do it on purpose. It was just the way I was raised."

Lucas gently grabs Maya's wrist this time and inspects it. He pulls her into a warm and inviting embrace. She has her head snuggled into his neck as Lucas's head is leaning on hers. They hug for a while before Lucas pulls back to look into her blue eyes. He feels like every feeling he has ever felt for Maya comes rushing back to hit him in the chest. Her beauty makes his breath hitch. A Texas sunset couldn't compare to Maya's strength. God, she is beautiful.

"I am happy you are back in our lives, Maya. Don't ever forget how important you are to the both of us. And don't forget how amazing you are."

* * *

 _ **Okay! Hope you guys liked it! If you thought this was a lot of angst? Wait until the next chapter.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey guys! Thank you so much for continuing to read this story. I really appreciate it, and I love y'all.**_

 _ **This chapter will feature some information as to what happened between Maya and Lucas in high school.**_

 _ **P.S. Sorry this chapter will be short, but cute.**_

* * *

Lucas walks through the front door of his penthouse. The time is around ten-thirty. He is back late tonight, but it's because he was training all day and studying Tony's moves for hours. After the fourth hour, Lucas decided that it was time to go home and take a shower and see his daughter. Maya dropped her off at Riley's and picked her up.

Lucas peeks into his living room where the television is on. On the couch is a sight that spreads warmth throughout his chest. Maya and Sadie are cuddled up together. Lucas smiles and grabs a blanket from a nearby chair. He spreads the blanket over the two girls and makes sure they won't be cold. As he is moving the blanket to cover Maya's arm, he notices that she begins to squirm.

Her blue eyes open, and she looks panicked.

"It's okay. It's just me," Lucas says. Maya sighs in relief and slowly lays back down beside Sadie.

"I thought you were a robber. I was ready to karate chop you in the throat," Maya explains making Lucas laugh.

"I didn't mean to scare you. I also didn't mean to stay out so late. I got caught up at the gym and Nick and I were studying Tony's moves," Lucas says.

Maya nods and carefully lifts herself from the couch, hoping not to wake Sadie up, "I picked her up from Riley's, cooked and fed her, and made her take a bath. We started watching a movie, and it wasn't ten minutes before she fell asleep. But she wanted me to tell you goodnight and she loves you."

Lucas smiles and picks Sadie up. He carries her into her bedroom and lays her down in her own bed. He kisses her forehead before turning on her night light and walking out. Maya is watching him as he does so, and can't help but feel so giddy to see how much of a good father he is.

"I love seeing you with her. I'm so happy that she has a father in her life who loves and supports her," Maya says.

The two of them walk back into the living room and sit down on the couch.

"Yea. I just hate that her mother wants nothing to do with her. Sadie hasn't even asked about her, and I get the feeling that she doesn't want to know anything right now. She's only four. She doesn't know better," Lucas says.

"Well her mother is missing out. She's a hell of a kid. I'm happy that you trust me with her, even after those years that we didn't see each other," Maya says, "Thank you."

"She loves you. How can I not trust you with her? As long as Tony isn't around her, then everything will be okay," Lucas says.

"Trust me, I will not let her anywhere near Tony. I know he scared her the other night, and I am so sorry for that," Maya apologizes.

"You don't have to apologize for him. He needs to be man enough to do that stuff himself," Lucas replies before mumbling, "and mean it."

There is a moment of silence between Maya and Lucas. It's not awkward, it's comforting. It reminds them of their dates in middle school. Lucas looks at Maya playing with a loose thread on her shirt, and his heart skips a beat. He can't begin to wonder how she could be so beautiful playing with a piece of fabric.

"Take a picture, Huckleberry," Maya smirks.

Lucas smiles and responds, "Do you need me to call you a cab?"

"No," She says quickly, "I can't go back to apartment tonight. I told Tony I was visiting my mother, after he drunkenly called me to pick him up."

"How did that go?" Lucas asks.

"He was mad. But he loves my mother for some reason. If I tell him I'm with her, then everything seems right with the world to him. I have to call her to tell her that I told him that, and we have to come up with a story," Maya explains.

"Why is that?"

"Because he wants to see if our stories match up. He wants to make sure I didn't lie to him," Maya responds.

"Well, if you want to, you can stay here for the night. I've got a guest bedroom, and you can anything you want to eat," Lucas offers.

"What am I going to wear? I don't have clothes," Maya says.

"I've got some clothes you can wear," Lucas responds.

Maya thinks for a moment, "Okay. I'll stay for the night. You better not try anything with me. I know how thirsty you can be," She jokes.

"Please. I would have you in my bed right now if I was actually trying. I just want you to be comfortable," Lucas says, making Maya blush.

He knows he shouldn't be flirting with her right now, especially since she is in an atrocious relationship with the boxer he has to fight with in less than a month. But he can't help it. It's natural for them to flirt. Flirting and teasing are a huge part of their banter. He feels like he is capable of having a relationship again. He hasn't been in a serious relationship since Sadie was born. Some women don't like that kind of baggage. Sure he's had one night stands with women while Sadie was at his mother's, but he wants something serious.

"Just get me some clothes, will ya?" Maya asks. Lucas smirks and walks into the laundry room. He grabs a pair of his sweatpants with a draw string and a plain white t-shirt. He walks back into the living room and hands Maya his clothes.

She smiles, takes the clothes, and asks, "Where am I sleeping?"

"Down that hall, take a left, and it should be the first door on your left," Lucas responds. Maya nods and walks away, and Lucas watches.

Why does someone like Tony think he can a wonderful woman, like Maya, and then think that he can have his way with her because he's twenty times her size? Lucas can't wait to make a fool out of Tony when they get in the ring together. He's going to make Tony feel the humiliation that he makes Maya feel everyday of their toxic relationship.

Thinking about that, though, just reminds Lucas of how he humiliated Maya in high school.

He knew getting involved with a girl like Kaytlin Massey would get him into trouble. He was such an idiot for leaving Maya for her. Not that he and Maya were really together. They were talking, but not in a relationship. But everybody thought they knew that she and Lucas were going to get together. That's what made it so humiliating for her.

Kaytlin offered Lucas stuff that his body was in charge of instead of his head, and as a result, he got dumped with a baby. And he lost the girl of his dreams.

And even when Maya didn't want anything to do with Lucas, she still helped him take care of Sadie. Lucas never thought about why, but he figures it's because she didn't want Sadie to grow up with a deadbeat father like she did. She helped him grow into a great father, and he wishes he didn't drive her away. But, she's back in his life again. And maybe she's back in his life again because it's his turn to return the favor that she did him when Sadie was born.

He walks to the guest bedroom to see Maya putting her hair up. He can't takes his eyes off her in his clothes. He's trying not to let his body think for him again.

"Hey. Just came to say goodnight. If you need anything. My room is at the very end of the hall that way," He says pointing the opposite direction of her room.

Maya nods and smiles, "Thank you, Lucas. Goodnight. If you need anything, I'll be right here."

* * *

 _ **Okay! Hope you guys liked it! I thought I'd add a cute chapter. Enjoy it now because the next chapter is when something big happens!**_

 _ **Happy Thanksgiving! And for all of my non-American or non-Thanksgiving celebrating people, have a nice day/night!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hi guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a long while. I've had a lot of personal issues to work through and super busy with school. But I finished school early now, so I have free time, and I hope I can accomplish more during my time off.**_

 _ **Hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter, because things will get complicated in this chapter. Promise.**_

* * *

Lucas wakes up early, like always. He has always been an early bird. He stretches himself out of his bed and walks down the hall to check on his little girl. She is sound asleep, and Lucas doesn't want to wake her up yet. He calls Nick to tell him that he is taking the day off. He thinks he deserves another one, especially after his training session yesterday. After debating it in his head for a moment, he decides to go to the guest bedroom to check on Maya. He doesn't want to seem like a creep, but he wants to make sure she is okay.

He quietly opens the door and sees that Maya isn't in her bed. He is confused. Automatic thoughts of her leaving during the middle of the night pour into his mind, but where would she go? She had to be in the bathroom or something.

Lucas makes his way to the kitchen to make him some tea, but as he walks in the answer to his questions were answered. Maya was sitting at the bar reading a book and drinking a cup of tea herself. Lucas feels better now knowing that she didn't leave during the middle of the night.

"Morning, Huckleberry. I brewed enough tea for all of us. I hope it was okay that I did that," She greets him, laying her book down.

Lucas grabs a cup down from the top cabinet. He fills the cup with ice and adds the tea after.

"I can't believe you drink tea with ice in it," Maya says.

"When you're from the south then that's the only way to drink tea," Lucas explains sitting across from Maya at the bar. She takes a sip of her tea and mutters something along the lines of 'I should've known it was a southern thing'.

"So, I don't know if I ever thanked you for taking care of Sadie yesterday," Lucas says.

"Well you are welcome. I love her so much. She reminds me a lot of you. It's insane how much you two are alike," Maya explains.

"It's the adorableness isn't it? I knew she had to get it from me," Lucas jokes.

Maya snickers, "Sure, Huckleberry. She gets it from your mother."

Lucas laughs. He missed their banter a lot after she left. Maya has always been someone he could joke around with. It's their shtick. They always flirt by making fun of each other. Even now that she is in a relationship with someone else, she still feels comfortable enough to flirt with him. Lucas doesn't think their relationship will ever go back to the way it was before he hooked up with Kaitlyn, but he feels that since the both of them have had the chance to grow up, that maybe their relationship will become something even better.

"I know your studio is going to be closed, so do you want to hang out here today? I called Nick and told him I was taking the day off today," Lucas asks. Maya is quiet, and Lucas knows this is because she is worried that Tony will find out.

"Tony won't find out from me. I promise," Lucas adds.

Maya thinks about it for a little bit longer and finally nods, "But I want to take Sadie to daycare. I would like to meet up with Riley. I haven't really got the chance to talk to her since we all split up."

"Okay. Tell Riley I said hey," Lucas says.

"Really Huckleberry?" Maya teases.

* * *

Maya unbuckles Sadie from her car seat and helps her out of the vehicle. She grabs Sadie's hand and they walk towards the daycare center. Maya opens the door and the two walk inside. They walk past a few colorful doors and a hallway scattered with finger paintings.

"Maya! Look! This is mine!" Sadie points at her finger painting.

"Wow! This looks so good. You are really talented Sadie, maybe you could be an artist," Maya says looking at the painting.

"We were supposed to paint a portrait of our family. See? That's me, and that's daddy!" Sadie says pointing to the stick figures that she painted on the paper. Maya notices another person in the picture next to the other stick figures.

"Who is that?" Maya asks.

"That's you," Sadie responds, and Maya feels her heart swell. She doesn't know if it's a happy swell or a nervous swell, but it feels different.

The door behind them opens. Maya turns around to see her former best friend. She still looks the same, even her smile. Maya feels nostalgic just looking at her. Riley immediately opens her arms and pulls Maya into her arms.

"Hey, Peaches," Riley says. Maya smiles and hugs her back.

"Hi, Honey."

"Hey Sadie! Why don't you go ahead and go inside. We're about to start a new art project. Just tell Farkle that you need some supplies, okay?" Riley tells the small child. Sadie nods and walks inside. Riley closes the door after Sadie walks in.

"Wow. I can't believe how well you and Farkle are doing. I would've come in to say hello yesterday, but I was in a bit of a hurry.

"It's okay. We're talking now," Riley explains, "And we have a lot to catch up on," The two girls walk around the halls. They are quiet for a moment before Riley speaks up.

"So, I hear your dance studio is really fun. That's what Sadie says, everyday," Riley begins. Maya's cheeks swell, forming a small smile. It makes her happy to know that someone loves her dance class. It serves as a reminder to herself that she didn't fail like everyone thought she would. The level of pride Maya feels at the moment helps her not think about the negative things going on in her life.

"Uh... yeah, I found a passion for dancing when I stayed with my roommate in college. It helped me through a lot of stuff. Stuff that I didn't think I could get over," Maya explained.

"I know what you mean," Riley began, "If I was asked in middle school, what I wanted to do with my life? Owning a successful daycare center, would've been one of my last answers."

Maya giggles. Although Riley was nice to everyone she met, Maya knew that Riley didn't want to take care of a bunch of children. Maya guessed it was because of all the 'horror' stories that Mr. Matthews told the both of them about the second graders in the elementary school. Maya wonders what changed Riley's mind about taking care of children.

"I really like this daycare. When Lucas's babysitter had to quit, he asked me to help him find a daycare for Sadie. And almost nobody wanted her, but when I came across your name in the phone book, I knew you would help Lucas and take Sadie in. Because you're kind like that," Maya explained.

"I've missed you so much, Maya. It's so nice to see you again," Riley said.

"Me too. I've really needed my best friend here lately."

And it's true. Maya has never been so stressed out in her life, and she doesn't feel like herself anymore. She loves being in Lucas's company, but it's different with him than it is with Riley. Riley can listen to her and give great advice. Lucas wants to protect her.

"So... you kept in touch with Lucas?" Riley teased. Maya felt heat rush up to her cheeks, but she responded with a giggle and a shake of her head.

"No. He enrolled Sadie into my ballet class, and he dropped her off one day on his day off, and we've been keeping in touch since," Maya explained.

"Okay, sure. I'll believe it when I see it."

"But, you'll never see it," Maya says, confused.

Riley smirks, "Exactly."

Maya laughs, "You're still kooky."

The two girls giggle and continue walking through the daycare center. They can't help but feel nostalgic when talking to each other now. Maya feels terrible for not keeping in touch with Riley when she went away, but she didn't keep in touch with anyone. She's knows that she's lucky that she's getting a second chance to rekindle her old friendship with someone as amazing as Riley Matthews-Minkus.

Riley was about to begin talking again before Farkle stuck his head out the door and said, "Riley, I need your assistance. Jasmine says she feels sick."

Riley turns back to Maya, "I have to go take care of her, but it was really nice talking to you again, Peaches. And you and I have to meet up and talk. Bay window soon?"

Maya smiles and hugs her best friend, "Yes. Bay window soon."

Farkle waves at Maya as he says, "Maybe I can join one time."

"Wouldn't want it any other way."

* * *

Maya walks back into Lucas's penthouse and sets her keys on the table. There is no sign of Lucas anywhere. _Maybe_ _he went to run some errands_ , Maya thinks. She slides her jacket off and hangs it up before walking into the living room and taking a seat on Lucas's couch.

"So, how was your visit with Riley."

Maya jumps. Recognizing Huckleberry's voice.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Lucas claims. Maya recognizes his change of apparel. He went from wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants to a tank-top and some red boxing shorts. She always thought Lucas looked good in red, and she thinks that he still does.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Maya asks. Immediately regretting her question when she saw the smirk form on his face.

* * *

"I wish I never agreed to spend the day with you!" Maya yells punching the tall black bag hanging from the ceiling in front of her. Lucas has an amused look on his face.

"Here," Lucas stops her and stands beside her, "Let me teach you some technique."

Maya nods and watches what he does and mimics what he does as he teaches her. He teaches her how to block punches, throw jabs, uppercuts, etc. Maya doesn't know right now that Lucas is teaching her how to defend herself. Lucas had this whole thing planned to teach her self-defense.

"Okay. If you're ever in a situation where you get attacked from behind, then it's important to know how to react quickly and turn things around literally in your favor. You're a dancer, so I have no doubt that your reaction time isn't quick, but in a stressful situation, your reaction time can be off," Lucas explains.

Lucas stands in a position where he's ready to demonstrate an attack from behind. Maya notices his flexing arms, and gets distracted a bit. She has to snap herself out of her thoughts in order to pay attention, but by this time, Lucas is done demonstrating.

"Can you show me that again?" Maya asks.

"Yea. Here, let me help you," Lucas says. He guides Maya to stand in front of him, "I'm going to pretend to attack you, and I'll tell you what to do as I'm demonstrating."

Maya nods and waits for Lucas to make the first move. He stands close to her and wraps his arm around her waist.

"I'm going to wrap my arm around your neck to cut off your airway," Lucas explains as he brings his muscular arm up and around Maya's neck, but it isn't tight and his arm isn't flexed, "At this point, you will want to use your left hand to pull the attackers arm away from your neck. This will allow a way for you to breathe, but it isn't noticeable to the attacker that you've done this."

"I have a quick question. How many girls did you attack to gain this information?" Maya asks.

Lucas rolls his eyes, "I took a self defense class after I graduated high school. This is important to know."

"Sorry. I just wanted to ease the tension."

"Well your attacker wouldn't want that," Lucas replies.

Maya nods and brings her left hand up and pushes her fingers in between her neck and Lucas's forearm.

"Now, what you want to do is take that little elbow of yours and dig it into my side or hit my stomach repeatedly with it. Your fists may not be a powerful weapon for you, but that bony elbow is sure to cause some damage," Lucas says.

"What if my attacker is like you and isn't affected by my tiny elbows?" Maya asks.

"Well, if a girl elbowed me in the ribs, I can tell you right now that I will be on my knees crying and apologizing," Lucas says, making Maya laugh, "But if your attacker doesn't get affected by a tiny elbow, then you have to options. Both that I know you will like."

"Which are..."

"You can either bite their arm, or give them a swift, backwards kick to the groin," Lucas says.

Maya smiles as she and Lucas practice the attacker demonstration. They practice this a few times until they grow tired. They walk over to a bench in Lucas's home gym. Lucas hands her a bottle of water and they try to catch their breath.

"Thank you for teaching me this, Lucas. I know why you did it too. But I promise you, that I'll be okay. And if I'm not, then I will take my self-defense classes with you as my teacher," Maya says.

"As long as you know how to protect yourself, then I will trust you when you say that you'll be okay," Lucas smiles.

Maya sets her water bottle down and stands up. Lucas is confused, "What is it?"

"I want to hit the bag a little bit more. It actually helps relieve some of my frustrations," Maya explains as she puts on some gloves.

"What happened to 'I wish I never agreed to spend the day with you'?" Lucas chuckles.

"I was letting out frustrations!" Maya jokes back, "Just hold the bag Friar."

Lucas holds the punching bag still as Maya begins practicing the new moves that Lucas taught her. In her mind though, she doesn't see the punching bag or Lucas holding the punching bag. She sees Tony. All of the horrible things he has said or done to her. She sees her father. She sees herself, abandoning all of her friends and Sadie. And she loses control on the bag.

Lucas notices her change in attitude. He notices the tears in her eyes that form as she punches the hell out of that bag. He lets go of the bag and grabs Maya's wrists gently. He, then, wipes a few of the stray tears away on her cheeks and under her tired blue eyes. He holds her face in his hands and stares at her.

"Nothing that happened to you is your fault," He tells her.

Maya doesn't respond. Instead, she wraps her arms around his neck and presses her lips to his. Lucas returns the kiss and slides his hands down to Maya's waist. He squeezes her waist gently in his hands because he wants to make sure he isn't dreaming. Maya deepens the kiss, gliding her tongue across Lucas's soft lips. Lucas moans as Maya snakes her tongue against his, taking control immediately. Lucas picks Maya up by her thighs and presses her up against the wall of his gym.

She grips his shoulder's tightly before raising his tank-top over his head. She moves her arms down to the hem of her shirt and pulls that over her head as well. Lucas takes this time to run his hands all over her bare skin. He kisses down to her jaw line and over to her ear where he nibbles on it, remembering how much she loved it when he did that. Maya shivers when he does that, and Lucas kisses her neck.

Maya, then, pulls away from him, "Stop. Stop, please."

Lucas pulls away, and the two of them listen to the sound of their ragged breaths.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I can't do this. I can't do this to Tony, and I can't do this to you," Maya apologizes.

"No. It's okay. We just got a little caught up in the moment. I'm sorry," Lucas says as he sets Maya down on the ground. He grabs her shirt from the floor and hands it to her. She pulls it back over her and looks at the ground.

"I should go pick Sadie up from daycare. I'll drop her off, and then I've got to get back home," Maya says.

Lucas doesn't want Maya to leave, but he nods anyway. She's about to walk away but turns around before she does and presses another kiss to Lucas's lips. She pulls away and walks out of the room.

Lucas is head over heels.

* * *

 _ **Okay. That was it for this chapter. Again, I'd like to apologize for my lack of updating. I'm going to try to update more frequently, and as a little treat (bribe) for reading my story and sticking with me through my tiny hiatus, I though I would put that little kissing part in there. ANYWAY! I hope y'all enjoyed it. Love y'all, and I'll try to update again soon.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hey guys! I'm so happy y'all loved the last chapter (even though it took me forever to finally get it done). I am so thankful and appreciate to every single one of you. Thank you guys so much for reading my story.**_

 _ **I hope you like and enjoy this chapter!  
**_

 _ **MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING!**_

* * *

Lucas hasn't talked to Maya in a few days. Of course it's inevitable for this to happen when you have a full on make-out session with a girl whom you've been in love with since forever, but she just happens to be in a relationship with one of your greatest boxing rivals. I mean that happens to everyone, right? Lucas wanted to make sure Maya was okay, so he decided to talk to Maya when he drops Sadie off at the dance studio.

"Daddy?" The young girl speaks, "Do you think you'll be able to come to my ballet recital?"

Lucas suddenly remembers his conversation with Maya about Sadie being one of the leads in the recital. He just can't remember what time and day it was.

"Of course, sweetie. When is it?" Lucas asks.

"It's in two weeks. We are doing The Nutcracker, and I get to be Clara," Sadie says proudly. Lucas looks at her toothless grin in the rear view mirror.

"Wow! Sadie, I am so proud of you. You really love ballet, huh?" Lucas says.

Sadie giggles, "Yes, daddy. I love ballet this much!" She holds her arms as far apart as she can. Lucas sees her do this in the rear view mirror, "I love ballet as much as I love ice cream!"

"Wow! That's a lot!" Lucas responds.

"I love ballet as much as I love ducks!" Sadie continues to explain how great her love for ballet is, making Lucas laugh, "I love ballet as much as I love the beach!"

"I love ballet as much as you love Maya!" Sadie says.

The look on Lucas's face immediately changes to shock. How did Sadie know that? He's never said anything to anyone about his feelings for Maya. He can't even admit it to himself. He always says that these feelings he 'thinks' he has for Maya is a different kind of love. A kind of love that he can't describe.

As he's pulling into the parking lot of Maya's dance studio, there is a big black truck that speeds out of the parking lot.

"You stupid asshole!" Lucas yells at the driver of the truck. He pulls into a parking space and turns the car off, "Are you okay?"

Sadie nods, "You said a bad word."

Even in times when his short temper gets the best of him, Lucas can always rely on Sadie to put a smile on his face and forget about what made him mad in the first place.

"I'm sorry. I just don't want a dummy-head to endanger you while I'm driving," Lucas apologizes. He takes a deep breath and turns around to look at his little girl.

"Sadie? Why do you think daddy loves Maya?" Lucas changes the subject back to what Sadie had just said.

"Because, you two are always together, and you trust her enough to let her take me to daycare and bring me home. And you talk about her a lot," Sadie explains.

Lucas's eyebrow furrows as he reaches to unbuckle Sadie's car seat, "You've been watching too many soap operas with grandma again, haven't you?" He asks as they get out of the car.

Sadie giggles, "How did you know, daddy?"

Lucas grabs Sadie's hand, "Daddies know these kinds of things. And daddy is going to have a little talk with grandma about watching that stuff with you."

The two walk into the building of Maya's dance studio. Lucas feels uneasy when he walks in. He doesn't see Maya anywhere. The other children in her class are sitting in the floor watching a movie with ballet in it. He starts to worry a little bit but tries to remain calm for Sadie and the other students. He bends down to where he's at the same height as Sadie.

"Why don't you join the others. I'm going to go find Madame Hart and talk to her. Okay?" Lucas asks. Sadie nods and sits with her group of friends in the floor. Lucas stands back up and walks back to Maya's office.

"Maya? You in here?" Lucas calls, but he doesn't get an answer. He sees a bathroom and walks over to the door.

He knocks, "Maya? Are you in there?" He tries to open the door, but it's locked.

No answer again, but the light is on. Lucas presses his ear against the door and hears sniffles. The faucet of the sink is turned on. The door is now unlocked, so Lucas takes this as an invitation. He's afraid to turn around and look, and he was right to feel that way.

The way she looked right now, wasn't good.

"Before you get angry and turn into the Hulk, let me explain," Maya begins before Lucas can even take a breath. Lucas doesn't say anything. He's too shocked at her physical appearance.

"It was Tony, wasn't it?" Lucas asks. Maya doesn't answer.

"He found out that I didn't stay the night at my mother's house," Maya explains, "My mother tried to tell him that I was there with her the whole weekend, but he didn't believe her, and he didn't believe me when I told him. He got so upset and said that I didn't love him anymore."

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing. I let him yell at me for a while. That's why I put the movie on for the girls to watch when I saw his truck pull up in the back. I knew he came here because he was mad. I just didn't know why he was mad. Are they okay?" Maya asks.

"They're fine. They don't know what's going on, and they don't know that something is wrong," Lucas responds. He walks over to Maya and examines her wounds.

"I tried to do those moves you showed me," Maya said, "That made him even more mad than he already was. He tried to slap my face, and I stopped his hand and slapped him instead. I even got a good punch on him."

Lucas felt a burning pain in his stomach. This was his fault.

"Maya. I am so sorry this happened to you. You don't deserve this at all," Lucas apologizes. Maya starts crying again, and Lucas is hesitant to touch her face.

"I'll be right back," Lucas says. He walks into Maya's office and opens a drawer at her desk, which has a first-aid kit inside. He walks back to the bathroom with the first-aid kit and shuts the door. He grabs a towel out of the small cabinet under the sink. He tells her to sit on the space beside the sink, and he starts to clean her up.

He starts with her left eye. The bruise around it is starting to turn a light blue and purple color. He puts some rubbing alcohol on the towel and gently presses it against her throbbing eye. She hisses and winces at the pain, but knows that it will help her.

"Sorry," Lucas utters. He doesn't like to see her in pain like this. Even though he has never seen her in this state, he still hates it for her.

"I'll get you some ice for that in a little bit. I just want to clean you up a little bit," Lucas says. Maya nods and lets him continue.

He grabs the towel from her eye and turns it over to clean a cut on her cheek and the blood off her face that came from her nose. Maya watches him carefully as he does this, wondering how many times he's had to do this to himself after a tough match in the ring, which helps her not focus on the stinging pain she has on her face at the moment. She shows him her knuckles on her right hand, which are bruised and bloodied. Lucas takes a moment to focus on her knuckles.

"How did that happen? If you don't mind me asking," Lucas asks.

"After he hit my face, I was able to punch him in the face, but it hurt my knuckles really badly," Maya explained.

Lucas takes the towel and puts some more rubbing alcohol and gently touches her knuckles with it.

"Ow!" Maya yells and grabs his hand that's on top of hers. He snaps his head up and looks at her pain expression.

"I'm sorry. I know it hurts, but it's important to clean," Lucas says, "You might want to go to a doctor to make sure that you didn't break any of your knuckles."

He gently lays the towel on her knuckles again. Maya jumps a little bit because of the pain, but toughs it out until Lucas is done. He wraps some gauze around her knuckles when he is done cleaning them.

"How are you going to explain..." Lucas pauses and motions towards her eye, "...That to the class?"

Maya sighs,"I guess I'll cover it up. I don't know if I have the stomach to tell them what really happened. Do you mind getting my make-up bag for me? It's in my bag on my desk."

Lucas nods and walks out of the bathroom. Before he walks into Maya's office, he checks on the girls to make sure they're okay. He, then, walks into Maya's office and grabs the make-up bag. He meets Maya back in the bathroom where she is staring at herself in the mirror. Lucas hands her the bag, and she starts the process of covering up her bruise. Lucas, although he may not be showing it right now, is furious. He wishes he could get his hands on Tony right now, but he is too concerned about Maya right now. He wonders how many times she has had to cover up bruises that have been caused by Tony because she seems to be covering her eye up quickly, like she's had lots of practice.

"Do you mind keeping the girls entertained for a little bit?" She winces as she taps a place on her eyes that hurts, "That movie I put in isn't that long, and I don't want them to worry."

Lucas nods as he walks to the bathroom door, "Yea. I'll be right out here if you need anything," He stops, "And I mean anything."

Lucas really needs to punch something right now. He is beyond pissed about what happened, but he tries to calm himself down before entering a room filled with sweet, little girls. He takes a deep breath as he enters the room. The movie credits are rolling, and the little girls don't know what to do. Sadie gets up from her group of friends and walks over to Lucas.

"Daddy? Is Madame Hart okay?" Sadie asks. The other girls walk over to the two of them.

"Yea. She's fine. She had some grown up business stuff to take care of, but she will be right out in a minute to see y'all," Lucas explains. He feels bad for lying to these little girls, but he knows that Maya doesn't want them to worry or tell their parents that their ballet teacher got beat up before class even started.

"So," Lucas begins, "You ladies want to start dancing?"

The girls erupt into laughter at the thought of the older man attempting to do ballet.

"What? What's so funny?" Lucas asks, "A man can do ballet if he pleases. Lesson one, from Mr. Friar, is to never discriminate someone from anything based on their gender, the color of their skin, what they believe in, and how they look. Got it?"

A small red-headed girl in the back raised her hand. Lucas points at her to signal that she can ask her question, if she has a question.

"What does 'desmenin-crate' mean?" She asked.

Lucas mentally slaps himself for not thinking that these little girls wouldn't know what discriminate means, but he was willing to teach them a simpler definition.

"Discriminate means to exclude someone from a group for being different," He responds.

Another girl raises her hand. Lucas points at her as she asks,"What does exclude mean?"

"To exclude someone means to not let them be apart of something that they want to be apart of because they are different," Lucas explains. He walks over to the front of the class room and the girls take their places in front of him.

"Okay, so it's always important to stretch before doing any form of exercise. So lets sit down and touch our toes, shall we?" Lucas asks. The girls agree and sit down. Some of the girls have no problem reaching for their toes, some of the girls have problems reaching for their toes, and some of the girls are too energized to stay still long enough to touch their toes.

"Let's move into a butterfly stretch. Do y'all know what a butterfly stretch is?" Lucas asks. Most of the girls nod and they all move into the butterfly stretch. Lucas feels a tap on his shoulder. He looks up to see that it's Maya, looking like nothing has happened to her. Lucas stands up and begins to follow her.

Maya yells on the way over to a private corner of the studio, "Sorry I'm late ladies! You all are doing a wonderful job! Continue stretching, and we will start today's lesson after I talk to Mr. Friar, okay?"

"Yes, Madame Hart!" All the girls say in unison.

"Lucas, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. I am very thankful to have you back in my life, and I don't want to mess that up. Our friendship is too valuable to me as well as my relationship with Sadie," Maya pauses to look at the little Friar stretching, "I don't want you to worry about me, okay? I know it's easier said than done, but I need you to butt out of my relationship, at least for right now. That doesn't sound too rude does it?"

"I understand Maya, but you can't get mad at me for caring and worrying about you. You are an important person in my and Sadie's life. I can't touch Tony before I get in the ring with him, but I promise you right now... I won't take it easy on him when we have our fight," Lucas says.

"Thank you for helping me," Maya responds hugging Lucas. The two stay in the embrace for a little bit before she pulls away.

"I'll keep checking up on you. I just don't want you to get hurt anymore than you already have," Lucas says. Maya nods and looks at her class.

"I'll take Sadie to Riley's, and I'll pick her up too. I love spending time with her," Maya says.

"Thank you. She loves spending time with you too. You're one of her favorite people," Lucas replies, "She told me about the ballet recital. I just forgot what day and time it is."

"It's two weeks from today at 6:30 p.m.," Maya informs him.

"I'll have to remember that," Lucas says, putting the date in the calendar on his phone.

Maya smiles at him, "Well. I better start the class. I'm already forty-five minutes late."

"I'll see you after awhile, and again, if you need me to protect you. Don't ever hesitate to call me, okay? I care about you, and I want you to be happy," Lucas says, "And remember: none of this is your fault."

"Thanks Huckleberry."

Lucas nods and walks out to his car in the parking lot. He can't help but think that what happened to her, was his fault.

* * *

 **Okay! Hope y'all were entertained. I just want to say though that I am not trying to romanticize physical and emotional abuse in a relationship, so if it comes off in that way, then I would like to apologize in advanced, and if one of y'all could tell me 'hey, you romanticized abuse, you can't do that,' then please tell me, because I don't want to make that mistake again.**

 **I would also like to tell any of you out there in a physically or emotionally abusive relationship that anything that happens to you is not your fault. And you have tons of support, whether you realize it or not. If any of you ever need someone to talk to, then I am here to listen and y'all's secrets are safe with me.**

 **I hope y'all liked it. We'll get some more cute Lucas and Sadie moments, cute Lucas and Maya moments, and some moments that will leave you like "OH MY GOODNESS!" (at least, I hope so.) So, keep a look out for that in the upcoming chapters! Love y'all!**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hey y'all! If you didn't get the chance to read chapter 8, then you have missed an important chapter. I'll just go ahead and warn you that things will get worse with Maya's relationship with Tony.**_

 _ **I also would like to say that I am writing a romantic-comedy called Friar Family Ties, if you're interested in it.**_

 _ **Hope you guys like this chapter. It'll be tense at moments, but I'll try to make it a little bit more light heart-ed.**_

* * *

Lucas unbuckles Sadie from her car seat and grabs a bag full of some of Sadie's toys. Maya checks her eye makeup one more time before she gets out of the car to meet Lucas and Sadie at the front door of the Matthews-Minkus residence. Maya knocks on the red door of the big white house in the suburb outside of the city. She has never lived or seen a suburb that she remembers. That doesn't stop her from dreaming about raising a family in a house like Riley's and Farkle's.

The cheery brunette opens the door, of course with the biggest smile on her face and she welcomes the three of them into her house.

"It's so great to see y'all! Farkle! Lucas, Maya, and Sadie are here!" Riley calls for her husband.

"This is such a nice house, Riles. I'm really happy for you," Maya says.

"Thank you, Peaches," Riley says before she pauses. She is so happy to have her friends back with her. It's been a long time since all of them have been together. When she found out that Lucas and Maya didn't have to work this weekend, she had to plan a get-together with all of them.

Farkle walks down the stairs with another familiar face behind him. Lucas's and Maya's faces brighten up even more when they see him.

"Long time, no see, huh?"

"Isaiah Hank Babineaux," Maya calls, "It really has been a long time!"

Zay walks over to the two and gives them both a hug. Riley really does have everything perfectly planned out. When the trio share their hugs, Zay turns towards a woman standing behind him. She's very beautiful, and expecting soon.

"Lucas. Maya. This is Kala, my wife and the love of my life," Zay introduces the woman to his friends.

Kala shakes both of their hands while saying, "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too!" Maya says watching Kala rub her very pregnant belly. Maya always wondered what it'd be like to be pregnant. She could imagine it being the most terrifying, horrible, but amazing experience ever.

"How far along are you? If you don't mind me asking," Maya asks.

Kala smiles, "I am almost 34 weeks. This will be our second child."

"Where is Tia. Tia!" Zay yells for his first child. A little girl almost around Sadie's age timidly walks down the stairs. She has her thumb in her mouth and is clutching a little baby doll.

"Tia," Zay says, bending down to his daughter's level, "Sweetie, these are my friends. Do you want to meet them?"

Tia slowly nods her head and takes her thumb out of her mouth. She grabs onto Zay's finger before walking over to greet Maya and Lucas.

"Hey there sweetheart. My name is Maya. You are very beautiful. Did you know that?" Maya asks. Tia nods her head and shakes Maya's hand. Maya giggles and shakes Tia's tiny hand.

"Hey. My name is Lucas. I've known your daddy for a very long time. I was there the day you were born. I have a daughter around your age, do you want to meet her?" Lucas asks. Tia nods as Sadie pokes her head around Lucas's leg. She moves to stand in front of him and looks at Tia.

"Hi. My name's Sadie."

"My name's Tia."

"Do you want to play with me? I brought some toys," Sadie offers. Tia, still a little shy, nods her head and follows Sadie to play.

Zay puts his hand on Lucas's shoulder. The both of them have those 'proud father' looks on their faces. They've been through a lot together, and the fact that both of their daughters are meeting and playing together is a testament to how loyal their friendship is.

"Can't believe how big they've gotten," Zay says. Lucas agrees, and the two of them converse about their daughters.

"Look at you Farkle. I know I saw you the other day, but I can't believe how...manly, you've gotten," Maya teases making Farkle chuckle.

"Back off peaches. You already got one of my men," Riley teases back, wrapping both of her arms around her husband.

"It's nice to see you and Lucas together again," Farkle says.

Maya laughs, "Ranger Rick and I aren't together again. We just started hanging out again, as friends, since Sadie joined my ballet class."

"Sure. That's what it is. Be honest. We know you've hooked up at least one time," Riley says.

"Riley Matthews-Minkus, those are such dirty thoughts for such an innocent mind," Maya teases.

"Be honest," Riley commands.

Maya pauses. Not wanting to tell them about the time they almost hooked up when he was teaching her some self defense moves. And if Maya has to be honest, she wants to get back together with Lucas. All these old feelings of hers for him resurfaced the day they met up again. But she still loves Tony. She knows that he obviously has some anger problems to work on, but she still loves him, and is afraid to break up with him.

"We haven't done anything. I have a boyfriend," Maya responds.

Riley rolls her eyes, "Where is your boyfriend, then?"

* * *

Lucas, Farkle, Zay, and Kala are in the back yard of the Minkus house. The girls are playing on a swing that was hanging on a tree branch.

"Are y'all excited about having another kid?" Farkle asks.

"We are really excited," Kala starts, "And not as nervous as we were when we had Tia. It gets easier when you have your second child. At least, that's what I've heard from other parents with multiple kids."

"Riley and I were excited when we found out she was expecting," Farkle says. Lucas looks down and lays a supportive hand on Farkle's shoulder.

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Farkle," Zay says, "You and Riley were gonna be amazing parents, and who knows, you two could try for another one. Either way, just know that y'all have us as support."

"Thanks Zay," Farkle smiles, "And who knows? Maybe we will try for another one."

Lucas smiles. He knows how much Riley and Farkle love kids. And what happened to them makes Lucas even more grateful that he has Sadie. When Kaytlin came up to him months before graduation and told him that she was pregnant, that news alone, changed Lucas's life forever. He wasn't sure he could love somebody so much. But when Sadie Elizabeth Friar was born, Lucas's love for anything else was thrown out the window. Sadie is his sidekick and one of his bestest friends.

"So. Do you know the sex of your baby?" Farkle asks, changing the subject off of him and Riley.

"Yes. We are having another baby girl," Kala responds. Zay smiles and lays his hand on Kala's active belly.

"Congratulations. I know that baby girl will be loved just as much as that little one," Farkle says pointing to Tia, who is laughing on the swing with Sadie.

* * *

Maya is helping Riley cook the food. She is chopping up different vegetables and fruits and putting them neatly in containers. Riley watches her after stirring the food in a large pot. Riley notices how different Maya looks, but not in a good way.

"Maya. Are you mad at me? For teasing you about Lucas?" Riley asks.

Maya sighs, "Nope. I can understand why you assume that Lucas and I are back together. But, don't get your hopes up because Lucas and I will probably never get back together."

Riley gives her a perplexed look, "Why do you think that?"

"Because I love Tony."

Now it's Riley's turn to sigh. She looks down and shakes her head. She takes the knife away from Maya and lays it down in the sink.

"Maya. I know Tony. I know that he's gonna fight Lucas in the biggest boxing match of the century in a few weeks. And I know about him because of what Lucas has told me," Riley begins to explain, "I just want to ask you something."

Maya's heart starts beating faster because she knows where this is going, "Go ahead."

"Does he treat you right?" Riley asks.

Maya doesn't respond. She stares at Riley, pondering what to say. She can't tell Riley what Tony does to her because Riley will lecture her, and Riley will get involved. Getting involved with a guy like Tony when you're a girl like Riley doesn't end up well for anybody.

"Why would you ask that? I wouldn't be with him if he didn't," Maya lies, but she knows that Riley knows the truth.

"Maya. You've changed. You look unhealthy. You look unhappy. Even when I mention his name, your eyebrow twitches," Riley says.

Riley touches the eye that Lucas helped her clean up a few days ago. The eye that she so desperately tried to hide by using tons of concealer and eye shadow. Maya flinches away.

"You forgot to hide that part," Riley says.

"It was my fault," Maya tries to defend Tony.

"That doesn't matter. That doesn't ever give him the right to hit you, ever! I don't care what you did. He should not put his hands on you, Maya!" Riley says.

"I can handle him. I've learned to defend myself," Maya says.

Riley grabs her hand, "Sweetie. That's not love. If you have to defend yourself from physical or emotional harm, then that's not love!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't have the perfect example of a loving relationship growing up," Maya tries to defend her relationship some more.

"Well that didn't affect your relationship with Lucas," Riley responds. Maya was about to continue to defend her relationship until Riley said that. She didn't even think about her relationship with Lucas. And it did work, for three years, until he was the one that messed up.

Maya sighs again, "You're right."

Riley pulls her best friend into a big, warm, comforting hug, "I hate this for you, Maya. I really do. I could tell you to break up with Tony because he's not good enough for you, but I know that you'll do whatever you want to anyway. But I want to tell you something."

"Go ahead," Maya says.

She points out the window to Lucas, who is laughing and playing with Sadie and Tia, "That man loves you. I bet he was the one who taught you to defend yourself. I bet he was the one to help you clean up that bruise on your eye, and that cut on your cheek. I bet the reason your hand has a cast on it right now is because you used those moves that he taught you on Tony. And I bet that the only reason that Lucas hasn't completely murdered Tony, yet, is because you begged him not to, and he loves you, so he won't do it."

Maya watches Lucas play with Sadie and Tia and smiles, "I bet you're three-fourths right," She responds.

"What am I wrong about?" Riley asks.

"Him loving me."

"Don't be ridiculous, Maya. He loves you, and we all know it," Riley says.

Maya just shrugs.

Riley walks back over to the food cooking in the pot and smells it. Maya sees the look on her face go from satisfied to pure disgust.

"Uh-oh," Riley says before leaning over the sink. Maya quickly grabs Riley's hair and pulling it out of her face before Riley vomits in the sink.

"Aww. I think I've lost a bit of my appetite," Maya says as Riley continues to empty the contents of her stomach into the sink.

"Ew," Riley says before cleaning and disinfecting her sink.

"C'mon, Honey. Lets go to the bathroom so that you can brush your teeth. I doubt you'll be having any of that," Maya says pointing the pot of food.

Maya follows Riley to her large bathroom. Riley grabs her toothbrush and the toothpaste. She runs her toothbrush under the water with the toothpaste on it and begins to brush her teeth.

"This bathroom is bigger than my apartment," Maya says looking at the fancy everything. The huge bathtub, more like hot tub. The huge walk-in shower. His and hers towels hanging up on the spotless towel rack. The large mirror that some restaurant bathrooms would be jealous of. Maya opens one of the drawers and sees Riley's make up collection. Maya starts singing a heavenly chorus, making Riley laugh.

"Need a roommate?" Maya asks before adding, "Just kidding, but if you need someone to move in, I am up for it."

Riley spits and wipes her mouth off with a towel before turning back around to look at Maya.

"What? You gonna upchuck again?" Maya asks.

"No," Riley smiles.

"Don't get me sick. I don't need a stomach bug. I have ballet students to teach, and I can't teach them if I'm bending over a trashcan," Maya says.

Riley says, "I don't have a stomach bug, Maya. You're safe."

"Well if you don't have a stomach bug then..." Maya stops and realizes what Riley is trying to say.

"No way," Maya says.

"Yes way, Peaches. Guess who's gonna be a godmother?" Riley responds.

Maya immediately wraps her arms around Riley in pure joy, "Riles! I can't believe this! I am so happy for you! Congratulations!'

Riley laughs, "Thank you, Maya. I was scared when I found out because of what happened the last time I got pregnant, but I know that it's gonna be better for us. Just because I know that we will have our amazing friends back with us to support us."

"Riles," Maya says with tears of joy, "Does Farkle know?"

"Not yet," Riley shakes her head, "I wanted to tell you first. And I wanted to tell all of you. That's why I planned this get together."

Maya is filled with genuine happiness. She is so proud to see her little Riley grow up to be a beautiful and powerful woman, like her mother. She is also so happy to see how happy Riley and Farkle are together and see them have a family. It makes Maya's problems go away for awhile, which something Maya really wanted. It's something that she usually gets with Sadie and Lucas, but that time doesn't last long enough everyday.

She needed more time with them.

* * *

"So, how has life been as a single dad?" Zay asks Lucas.

"I thought it was going to be so hard, but I had so much help. I never told you this, but I just wanted to thank you for helping me with Sadie for those few months," Lucas says.

"Hey, friends help each other out, right? Plus, learning to take care of Sadie helped me out a lot when Tia was born. I knew how to change a diaper, give her a bottle, bathe her, everything. So thank you," Zay reiterates the 'thank you' that Lucas gave him.

Riley and Maya walk back downstairs. They walk over to Farkle, who is ordering food since Riley...upchucked. Zay notices Lucas's heart eyes.

"Just friends, huh?"

Lucas nods, "Just friends. She's Sadie's ballet teacher, and she helps me with Sadie whenever I have to get ready for a match."

"Well you have the same look in your eyes for her that you always have. I just thought you should know that," Zay says. Lucas chuckles, thinking that his best friend is so nutty.

"She's in a relationship with the boy I have to fight in a few weeks," Lucas says.

"Uh-oh."

"No. I was fine with it before, but, and you can't tell her that I told you, he is an abusive asshole. I dropped Sadie off at her ballet class the other day only to find her crying and beaten up in the bathroom."

Zay's demeanor changes, "Tell me that I am not aiding and abetting. I have a child on the way, but if I have to, then I will."

Lucas pats Zay's back, "No. You don't have to do that. I'll have plenty of time in the ring to get my hands on that punk. I can't touch him before the match starts anyway, or I'll be fired."

"If you need help, let me know. I know a few guys who can take him out," Zay says.

Lucas chuckles, "Me?"

"Yea."

At this point, Riley walks over to the two of them and asks them to sit down in a chair at the table outside in the backyard. Lucas sits down in a chair and pulls Sadie up on his lap. Maya takes a seat next to him and across from Riley. Zay sits down next to Kala and pulls Tia up on his lap.

"Farkle and I would like to thank all of you for coming today. It's been too long since we all have been together, so I decided that today would be a perfect day to plan this. I would like to apologize to everyone that we had to order food due to me. I have an explanation as to why the food was ruined, but first, I would like to give this present to my husband," Riley says handing a little box to Farkle.

Farkle has a confused look on his face, "Riley? I didn't get you anything."

"You already gave me something," Riley responds. Farkle still looks confused before she says, "Just open the box, Minkus."

Farkle opens the box and sees a drawn picture of Pluto and Mars together. The two planets have happy faces on them, and the planets are holding a smaller sphere, also with a happy face on it. Above the drawing of the planets, the cartoon says "Congratulations, Dad!" on it, and Farkle's eyes sparkle with happy tears.

He looks up into Riley's eyes, "Really?" He asks. Riley nods, and Farkle joyfully plants a kiss on Riley's lips. Forgetting that they had company, they had to relish in the moment that they had the chance again to be parents.

Zay clears his throat, grabbing the couple's attention, "What is it?"

"Zay! You're so nosy," Kala picks on him.

Farkle turns to Zay, "It seems that you, Zay, and Kala aren't the only couple expecting anymore."

"Alright! Congratulations guys! I am so happy for y'all," Lucas stands up and hugs the both of them. The group gets up and exchange hugs, again, and finally sits down to eat.

It's quiet at first, with everybody eating, but it's not an awkward silence. It's a peaceful silence.

"Look at us, guys," Riley says, looking at everyone and breaking the silence.

"I guess this is growing up."

* * *

Lucas and Maya are sitting in silence in his car. Sadie is asleep in the back seat after playing with Tia all day. Maya is looking at the trees and enjoying them before they get back to the city. She also looks up at the stars through the window.

"Maya?" Lucas calls causing Maya to look at him.

"I never thanked you, for helping me out with Sadie as much as you have. Even after I stupidly cheated on you," Lucas hits his hand on the steering wheel, but not so hard as to make her flinch or scare her.

"I will always regret what I did to you. You are such a beautiful woman, and what I did, was so stupid. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself," Lucas says.

"I don't regret what you did," Maya says softly, "I mean, yea, it hurt like hell to find out that you cheated on me, and that you got her pregnant. But I don't regret what happened. You wouldn't have Sadie if you wouldn't have done that. And to be honest, Sadie changed you for the better. Even though you and I split up, our friendship, now, is better because of her."

"Yea. She's the only reason I kept going years ago. Even after you left. She kept me going," Lucas says, "Believe it or not, though, I never stopped loving you. I think I will ever stop loving you. And every time you would come over to help me change her diaper or stay up with me all night when she was crying and fighting sleep, and every time you help me with her now, makes me only love you more."

Maya smiles, "You're welcome. And I'll tell you something. I never stopped loving you either."

"I'm guessing there is a 'but' somewhere in there," Lucas guesses.

"I love Tony too."

Even though there wasn't a lot of light, Maya could see Lucas's jaw clench.

And the ride was quiet until he dropped her off at her apartment.

"I would walk you up to your apartment, but I can't leave Sadie," Lucas explains. Maya nods in understanding and leans over the seat to give Lucas a hug.

"Thanks for everything, Huckleberry. Goodnight," She tells him. She gets out of the car and waves goodbye to him before walking inside her apartment building.

Lucas sighs before putting the car back into drive and going home with his little girl.

* * *

 _ **Aww. I tried to make it a sweet chapter. I hope it's not too mushy, and I also hope y'all liked it! Sorry, I didn't read over this because it's after one in the morning here.**_

 _ **Go ready my new story Friar Family Ties! Let me know what y'all think!**_

 _ **Love y'all!**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hey y'all! I am so thankful that so many of you love this story. I hope you guys will continue to read it because it's beginning to get interesting.**_

 _ **This chapter is going to begin a little bit differently, but it will be another chapter with all of the characters again except Sadie.**_

 _ **MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING.**_

* * *

Riley Matthews-Minkus wakes up, ready for her first ultrasound. She and Farkle call all of the parents of the daycare kids to tell them that the daycare will be closed for the day and explain why. Riley rubs her small belly while watching Farkle call the parent of the last daycare kid, Lucas. She can't help but smile at the glint of happiness in Farkle's eye when he talks about their unborn child, and she knows how lucky she is to have a husband like Farkle Minkus.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Lucas. Good-bye," Farkle says before hanging up the phone. He stands up and walks over to his wife, wrapping his arms around her.

"You look even more beautiful than usual today," He says as he kisses her cheek, "Are you ready to go?"

Riley nods, "But we need to pick up Maya. She said she wants to be there for the first ultrasound, and I told her that we would pick her up."

"Okay. Do you know how to get to her apartment?" Farkle asks.

"Yea. She texted me the address," Riley says looking at her phone, "I'm gonna ask her if she's ready."

Riley opens up her messages between Maya and herself. They have been non-stop talking since the picnic a week ago, but Maya hasn't responded to her texts in two days.

"Never mind. Let's go pick her up. I'm sure that she's ready," Riley says. Farkle grabs the car keys and walks out behind Riley. He locks the front door and gets in the vehicle, feeling a little bit anxious.

Riley pulls the seat belt around her and clicks it together. She notices Farkle's nervous look. He wasn't trying to show it, and if it were anybody else looking at him, they probably wouldn't know that Farkle was nervous about something. But Riley learned these things about Farkle even before they got married, even before they got together as a couple.

"What's the matter, honey?" She asks.

Farkle looks at his wife quickly, "Huh? Oh, nothing. I'm just a little nervous about going to this ultrasound. I don't want to be really excited, but after what happened, I don't want to get my hopes up."

"I feel the same way, but I'm not going to let what happened with our first baby keep me from being excited about this baby. I know that probably sounds harsh, but you know what that taught me?" Riley asks. Farkle just responds with a 'hmm' before Riley responds.

"I learned that no matter what happens to us, you will always be there for me. After we lost the first baby, I felt empty inside. I felt like nothing could ever make me happy again. But that was before you turned around in our bed, and you wrapped your arms around me and told me that everything was going to be okay."

Farkle grabs Riley's hand and nods. She lays her head down on his should and brushes his hand with her thumb.

"Everything is going to be okay, Farkle. Because we love each other, and we're supportive and caring of each other."

* * *

Farkle turns into the parking garage of Maya's apartment building. The couple gets out of their car, and Farkle locks the doors. Riley locks her arm with his and holds his hand with her other hand.

"Do you know what apartment she lives in?" Farkle asks.

"Yea. She's in apartment 721."

The couple walks into the apartment building and walk up the seven flight of stairs before they reach the floor they needed to be on. Farkle opens the door that has a big '7' on it.

"No wonder Maya stays so fit," Riley says, "She has to walk up and down those stairs all day everyday."

Farkle laughs as the two walk down the long hallway looking at the side with the odd numbers on it. Riley stops just before the green door with the numbers '721' on it. Farkle stops and sees the worried look on Riley's face.

"What's the matter?" He asks.

"Something's wrong. I don't know what it is, but I know that something is wrong. I can feel it," Riley says. She takes a step forward and knocks on the door gently, calling Maya's name.

"Maya! Are you in there?" She calls, but there isn't an answer. Riley twists the door knob, and the door opens slightly. The look on Riley's face is pure panic, and she rushes inside.

Everything inside is a mess. Her glass coffee table is shattered in the floor. The couch is turned on its back. A few of Maya's paintings have holes in them from someone punching them. The carpet is stained with blood, which makes Riley terrified.

"Maya!" Riley yells. She walks down the hall and sees Maya's bathroom in disarray, but there still isn't a sign of the blonde.

"Farkle. Go get the car and pull it around, please. I feel like we're gonna have to hurry," Riley says. Farkle nods and runs out of the apartment. He grabs his phone and starts to call Lucas.

Riley runs down the short hallway to the door of Maya's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar and slightly off it's hinges. Riley carefully opens the door and chokes up when she sees her best friend laying down in the floor. Riley immediately rushes to Maya's side and carefully turns her best friend around on her back.

"Maya! Oh my gosh!" Riley yells, "Wake up, Maya!"

Riley gently moves some strands of hair off Maya's face and caresses the bruises on her face.

"Maya! Wake up!" She shakes her best friend, hoping it would do something, "Wake up! C'mon, Maya!"

Maya slowly opens one of her eyes because the other one is swelled shut, "Riley?"

"Maya!" Riley sighs a breath of relief. She holds her best friend and cries. Maya tightly wraps her bruised arms around Riley and bawls.

"I'm so sorry, Riley," She says.

"Why are you apologizing to me, Peaches?"

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you about him. I thought I could defend myself, but he caught me off guard," Maya cries. Riley pulls away from her, careful not to hurt Maya even more than she already is.

"We have to take you to the hospital. I knew something was wrong. I told Farkle to bring the car around," Riley explains, helping Maya off the floor. Riley can't help but notice how brutal Maya looks. Her face, arms, and legs are covered in dark bruises, and she has dried up blood on her face and knuckles. Who knows where else she has bruises.

"Riley. Promise me you won't tell Lucas?" Maya asks.

"My concern right now is about you, not Lucas. I won't tell him."

Riley helps Maya walk down the stairs. It takes a while, but they finally meet Farkle in the front of the apartment building, avoiding the stares of the strangers passing.

"Maya," Farkle says in shock, "How did this happen? When did it happen?"

"Farkle. I know you're concerned, but we have to worry about getting her to the hospital right now. Hurry!" Riley says, putting Maya in the passenger seat. She takes a seat in the back, and with the emergency flashers on, Farkle rushes to the hospital.

* * *

"How long has Tony been abusing her?" Farkle asks.

Riley shrugs, "Who knows? They've been together for a while. I can't believe she hasn't done anything about it. I mean, it's not like Maya to let a man push her around and dehumanize her like Tony does."

"How long have you known?"

"Lucas was telling me about Tony one day when he came to pick Sadie up from the daycare. I didn't expect Tony to actually do damage like this, but I was still skeptical about his 'love' for Maya. I didn't think he would ever lay a hand on her, until I saw proof at our get together a week ago. She tried to cover her eye up with make up, but I noticed that she missed a part. I am so stupid. I should've done something," Riley admits as she begins to cry again.

Farkle scoots over and rubs Riley's back, "It's not your fault, Riley. What could you have done?"

Riley sniffles, "I swear if I wasn't pregnant right now..."

The doctor walks out of Maya's room and over to Riley and Farkle.

"Are you two family of the patient?" The doctor asks.

Riley stands up and nods, "She is my sister."

"Well, Maya seems to be doing fine right now, but I will say that her beating was really brutal. We ran some tests to make sure there weren't any broken bones, concussion, or internal bleeding," The doctor begins.

"Is she going to be okay?" Farkle asks.

"Well she has a cracked rib and some damage to her hand, but she doesn't have a concussion or any internal bleeding. She's a lucky girl. These bruises seem to be two days old. She's tough," The doctor says, "She can have visitors, but she's heavily sedated with pain medication. She could be out for a couple of hours."

"Thank you, doctor," Farkle says.

"We'd like to keep her overnight for a few more tests and some observations, but she will be fine. I just hope that whoever done this to her is brought to justice."

"Us too, sir."

The doctor walks away and Farkle turns to look at Riley.

"You ready?" Farkle asks. Riley nods and squeezes his hand tightly. They walk into the emergency room and find Maya's room. Riley lets go of Farkle's hand when she walks over to Maya's bedside.

"Peaches," Riley begins, "I am so sorry that this happened to you. You don't deserve this at all."

Farkle walks over to the other side of Maya's bed and holds Maya's hand, "I can't believe this happened to her. I never thought this would happen to either of you. I just knew that I wanted to protect the both of you as much as I could."

"I didn't think it would ever happen to either us too."

They hear a knock on the door and look to see Lucas standing there. His hair is disheveled. He has bags under his eyes. He looks exhausted. Riley walks over to him with tears in her eyes and gives him a hug.

"Are you okay?" She asks.

"I was until Farkle called me, but I don't think I have any room to complain," Lucas responds. He walks over to Maya's bed and looks at her. She looks worse than she did the first time he found her like this.

"H-" Lucas pauses, trying to fight back tears, "How did you know this happened again?"

"Maya wanted to come with us to our first ultrasound today, and we found her like this when we went to her apartment to pick her up," Riley explains.

"Did the doctors say anything? Is she going to be okay?" Lucas asks.

"They ran some tests. She doesn't have a concussion or any internal bleeding, but she does have a cracked rib and some damage to her hand, but she's gonna be fine. They said that she would be asleep for a couple of hours due to the amount of pain medication they gave her," Farkle explains.

Lucas sits down in a chair beside Maya's bed. He lays his head in his hand and shakes his head. His other hand is balled up in a fist. He begins to take deep breaths to try and calm down before he lost his cool. Farkle lays his hand on his shoulder in support.

Riley tries to help him calm down by talking to him.

"Where is Sadie?" She asks.

"She's with my mom. I didn't want her to see Maya like this. She loves Maya, and I don't think she's old enough yet to understand what happened," Lucas explains.

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her that she had to stay with my mom while I visit Maya. I told her that Maya had gotten hurt, and she really wanted to come, but I just need some time," Lucas says.

"I understand," Farkle says, "If you need us to watch her, then we will."

"Thank you," Lucas responds.

"Lucas," Riley begins, "Maya told me not to tell you that Tony beat her up again. But I don't think it's because she is afraid of what you might do to Tony. I think it's because she doesn't want you to see her like this."

Lucas's jaw clenches, and he takes a deep breath.

"You guys said that you have an ultrasound appointment today?" Lucas asks as Riley and Farkle nod, "Why don't y'all go ahead. I'll call if anything changes."

"We don't want to leave her side," Riley says, "We don't want to leave you alone. We're staying. I can reschedule our appointment."

Lucas nods. Riley and Farkle take a seat, and they all sit in silence for a little bit.

Wondering what they could've done.

* * *

 _ **Okay! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know it was a bit intense, but now that we've hit rock bottom, we can only go up! So expect that to happen soon!  
**_

 _ **It will definitely get interesting in the next chapter.**_

 _ **Some things to look out for would be some smack talk, a very protective Lucas, a vulnerable Maya, a sweet little girl making things better, the ballet recital, and of course the fight between Lucas and Tony. Maybe a little plot-twist in the end.**_

 _ **Anyway. Love you guys! And I will try to update as soon as possible!**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hey y'all! I want to say thanks for reading and reviewing my stories. I am very appreciate of all of you, and you guys are inspiring me to write more, which is fantastic. Thank y'all so much!**_

 _ **I hope you all like this chapter! (It's a short one)  
**_

 _ **MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING**_

* * *

The last thing Lucas remembers before falling asleep is Riley telling him that she and Farkle are going to leave for the night. He thinks she said something about getting a hotel room, so they don't have to travel far from the suburbs to the city. Lucas remembers that he called his mother and asked her to watch Sadie for the night, which she gladly accepted. And he remembers what Sadie told him over the phone.

 _"I know I'm only four, daddy, but I know that something's wrong with Maya. When can I come see her?"_

 _"You're a very smart girl, Sadie. But I need to explain a few thing to you, in person, before I can let you come see Maya. Maya's going to be okay, and I know that she can't wait to see you when she feels better."_

 _"Okay, daddy. Tell Maya I said to get better soon. I love you."_

 _"I love you too, sweetheart. Goodnight. Don't give grandma a hard time, okay?"_

 _"Okay. Goodnight."_

Lucas opens his eyes in the dark room. One of the nurses must have turned off the lights. He rubs his eyes and yawns before being brought out of his thoughts.

"You're mad, aren't you?" Maya asks.

Lucas quickly sits up and responds, "When Farkle called, I was, but I was more worried about you than anything."

He reaches up behind Maya's bed and pulls the string that connects to the lamp, turning it on. He scoots his chair closer to Maya's bedside and grabs her hand.

"I wasn't mad at you, though."

Maya can't make eye contact with him. She's afraid that she will break down if she looks at him. So she stares at the wall across from her. Lucas feels how tense she is when he grabs her hand, and he doesn't know what to do to help her.

"Is it safe to say that your relationship with Tony is pretty much over now?" Lucas asks.

Maya sighs, "I'm so stupid. I should've ended things between us the first time he did this," Maya finally looks at him and continues, "Do you want to know how we got together?"

Lucas nods, not knowing this part of their story.

"I met him while I was in college. It was right after you and I broke up, and I didn't think anything else would happen between Tony and me after we flirted over a few drinks. But he kept coming around, and I thought he was sweet. I thought he was sweet and charming. He was the first boy, after you, who showed interest in me as a person and not as a pretty face. We started going out, and I thought that I could trust myself to not get hurt in a relationship with him," Maya begins.

Lucas's jaw clenches. He really hates himself right now. Hurting Maya like he did in high school was and still is the stupidest thing he has ever done. He wishes that it could've been him that Maya was with while she was in college. He wishes that it could've been him that protected her from people like Tony.

"Anyway, things started off pretty amazing. My friends from college loved him, and I started to fall in love with him myself. But five months into the relationship was enough time for him to get possessive over me. And I guess I was just too love struck to notice. But my friends noticed, and my family noticed. They said that I never came around anymore, and that it was Tony's fault."

"What did you tell them?" Lucas asks.

"I agreed. I noticed how different things were too, after they told me. I was just afraid to bring it up to him at first. Then, I remembered that I am Maya Hart, and I'm not scared of anybody or anything. So I brought it up to him," Maya says.

"And that was the first time he hit you," Lucas says, connecting the story together.

Maya nods, "He slapped me. At first, I was in shock, but then I got super pissed. I didn't talk to him for a week, but that didn't stop him from trying to apologize. I can't remember what he did to get me to forgive him, but that was my first mistake. He got a little rough around the edges as we continued our relationship. It got toxic really fast. But I kept telling myself that I wasn't scared of him. But I never realized how many times I flinched or coward because of him. I didn't feel like myself anymore. I decided, after a year of that toxicity, that I was going to break up with him."

"What happened? Why didn't you break up with him?"

"He got discovered by a boxing agent. He had instant fame, and I still needed to pay for college. I just didn't know how I was going to bring it up to him. I didn't want to seem like I was only staying with him for money even though I was. I just brought it up to him by acting shocked at a bill that came from the college was in the mail. When I did that, though, he automatically accused me of staying with him for the money, and that's when he did this..." Maya says, gesturing to her current state of health, "To me for the first time. The only difference was that I was laying in my apartment for a week before I finally got the strength to take myself to the hospital."

Lucas squeezes Maya's hand gently. Her voice is getting shaky. She is trying to stay strong in front of Lucas, but it is obviously difficult for her.

"I didn't see him until he came to me in the hospital and told me that he paid off all of my college debt. He-" Maya starts before Lucas interrupts.

"Whoa. Wait a minute. How did he know you were in the hospital? I mean your mother must not have known you were in the hospital because if she did, then she wouldn't have let Tony know that you were there," Lucas says.

"I didn't know this at the time, but he paid someone to install a tracker in my phone. He told me that he would get rid of it, and I believed him because he let me get a new phone. He obviously had another put in because he found out that I stayed with you, and he found out that I went to Riley's house last week."

Lucas feels a rush of guilt flow throughout his entire body.

"I'm so sorry, Maya. If I had known that, I wouldn't have asked you to stay if it caused you any trouble," Lucas apologizes.

Maya squeezes his hand to calm him down, "Lucas. I had no idea he put another tracker in my phone. It's not your fault."

"Maya. I know you don't want me to do anything to him, but I'm gonna say this. When I get in the ring with that son of a bitch in less than two weeks, I will not take it easy on him," He says.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, Lucas. I don't care what you do to him now, but I do want you to wait until you fight him in the ring."

Maya smiles at Lucas and can't fight back anymore tears. She wipes them away and lays her head back.

She turns her head to look at Lucas, who is wiping away tears of his own. It is the first time she is seeing him cry since the night she broke up with him. That was also the night he told her that he had gotten another girl pregnant. Even though Lucas has broken her heart in the past, she still wants him to be happy, and she doesn't think she can live with herself knowing that Lucas could possibly be unhappy. But she knows that when he gets upset or angry that the only person who can cheer him up is his daughter.

And Maya feels angry and upset right now.

"Hey Lucas? Can you bring Sadie up here tomorrow? I could really use a visit from her."

"Sure."

* * *

 _ **Okay! I hope y'all liked this chapter. I thought I would give a little bit of background into the history of Maya and Tony's relationship. For those of you wondering what exactly happened between Lucas, Maya, and Kaitlyn in high school, I promise I will address it in the story soon, but I will have to make it dramatic, of course. So look out for that.**_

 _ **The next chapter will include Sadie cheering Maya up a little bit, and the ballet recital, which will get really interesting.**_

 _ **Keep getting excited because the big fight will happen soon after the ballet recital followed by a plot twist in the end. Not too much longer, kitties.**_

 _ **Love y'all!**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hi! Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, and keeping up with this story. I am so happy that y'all like this story so much.**_

 _ **I hope y'all look forward to this chapter because there is a strong moment between Maya and Sadie. The ballet recital is going to happen in this chapter, with a few shocking elements into it.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

Lucas sits down on his mother's red couch after being invited in, contemplating on his choice of words to use with Sadie regarding Maya's situation. Lucas's mother walks to her bedroom where her granddaughter is sleeping, and she gently wakes Sadie up.

"Sweetie," Lucas's mother gently says, "Daddy's here. You wanna see him?"

Sadie sits up quickly and yawns. Before she is able to jump off her grandma's bed, Lucas's mother stops her.

"Sweetheart. Daddy has something to discuss with you. It's pretty serious, so you need to pay attention and do what he tells you, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Sadie responds. Lucas's mother picks her granddaughter up into her arms and carries her to the living room, where Lucas is waiting for them. Sadie hops down from her grandma's arms and rushes over to her father, giving him a great big hug.

"Hey, daddy! Is Maya okay? When can I go see her?" Sadie asks.

Lucas tightens his arms around her, "Maya's gonna be fine, kiddo. But I have to explain a few things to you about what happened to her."

"Is she sad?" Sadie asks.

"I don't want to lie to you. What happened to her, has happened to her before, and yes, it does make her sad," Lucas explains.

"What happened to her?"

Lucas sighs and chokes on his words a little bit before he continues, "Maya was in a really bad relationship with a really bad man. That man would show his anger towards Maya in a way that shouldn't have been shown," Lucas swallows the big lump in his throat before finally spitting it out, "He hit her."

Sadie is now quiet. All of her attention is on what Lucas is talking about, and even though she is confused as to why the bad man hit Maya, she understands that what is happening isn't a good thing.

"There are people in this world who are going to do and say mean things to you. But I want you to know that if you are ever in an uncomfortable situation where a bad person is being mean to you, that you don't have to hide it from me. In fact, I advise you not to hide it from me. If you're too scared to come to me, then go to Maya. Maya loves you, and she doesn't want to see you get hurt. Just like I don't want to see you get hurt," Lucas explains.

"Is Maya ever gonna be happy again?" Sadie asks.

Lucas smiles, "I can guarantee it. She really wants to see you, and I'm going to take you to see her, but I need to tell you something."

Sadie nods and listens as Lucas continues, "Maya looks different. She has bruises and scratches on her face and arms, but I promise that she is still the same Maya that you know. If you want to ask her any questions about the bruises and scratches, then she told me that she will answer any of your questions. Okay? You don't have to be scared to see her."

Sadie nods again before jumping off Lucas's lap and running to go get changed.

* * *

"Hey, Riles?" Maya asks.

Riley turns her head to look at her best friend and rises to her feet quickly, "What? Is everything okay? Do I need to call the nurse in here?"

"No, Honey. I just wanted to ask if you and my godchild are okay," Maya responds with a smile on her face.

"Oh," Riley says, "Well, we'll both be okay when we know that you're okay. I can't tell you how scary it was to see you laying in the floor of your apartment. Your living room was flipped upside down. Your bedroom was in disarray. But, the scariest part for me was seeing the blood in your carpet. I thought I was gonna find something worse laying in your bedroom floor."

Riley has tears in her eyes as she says this. Maya can't help but let out a few stray tears as well.

"And look at you," Riley says, "You're the one in the hospital bed, and you're asking _me_ if I am okay? I don't know if I should feel lucky to have such a caring best friend, or if I should feel guilty for making you feel like you have to ask me if I am okay."

"You shouldn't feel guilty. If you didn't come to my apartment and force me to wake up, I would probably still be in my bedroom floor. Don't you dare blame yourself for this. It's not your fault anyway. It's mine," Maya says.

"No it's not," Riley says with a hint of anger in her voice, "It's Tony's fault. I don't care what you did. He should've never laid a hand on you."

Riley sits next Maya on her bed, "Maya? How are you staying so strong through all this?"

Maya sighs and grabs Riley's hand, "It helps a lot that you guys are here for me. And I guess I've just been through this before," She says.

"But I promise, this is the last time. I am done with Tony."

* * *

"Knock knock!" Lucas says as he and Sadie walk into Maya's hospital room.

Maya's face immediately brightens when she sees Sadie. She sits up and makes room for Lucas and Sadie to sit on her bed. Sadie struggles to climb up the bed, so Lucas picks her up and sets her down on the bed in front of Maya. Lucas takes a seat behind Sadie.

"I am happy that you're okay, Maya," Sadie says, "And I'm sorry the bad man showed his anger on you."

Sadie turns around and pulls something out of her coat pocket, "I made this for you last night. I hope you like it"

Maya takes the "Get Well" card from Sadie and reads it:

 _Deer Maya dady told me you got hert. I am mayking this card for you to get betur becase I no Riley sed tat get betur cards help you get betur fast. It is trew. My frend Tanner got sick so Riley mayd us mayke get betur cards for him. And he cayme bac the next day. You arr stronge. I no yull get betur soon. Yur won of my fayvrite pepull. I love you! Love Sadie._

Maya brings her hand up to her mouth. Reading Sadie's letter truly bring tears of joy to her eyes. She folds the letter back up and gives Sadie a big hug. Maya notices that Sadie is afraid to hug back.

"It's okay, sweetheart, you can hug me back. Hugs heal me," She sniffles. Sadie wraps her arms around Maya and they stay in the embrace for a long time before Maya pulls back.

"I am going to keep this letter forever," Maya tells Sadie, "And whenever I get sick, or sad, I'm gonna look at this letter, and everything will be okay again."

"Are you okay, now, Maya?" Sadie asks.

Maya nods, wiping away her tears, "I am perfect when you're around me."

* * *

After Maya was released from the hospital two days later, she and Lucas go to her apartment to get some of her things. Maya stops in front of the door of her apartment and grips Lucas's arm. Lucas looks at her and notices her apprehensiveness.

"We don't have to do this today, if you're not ready," Lucas says.

Maya shakes her head, "No. I need to do this. I need to get my stuff. And I need to get my strength back."

"I don't remember you ever losing it," Lucas says.

Maya opens the door to her apartment, and she is shocked to see that it has been cleaned up a little bit. Her couch was turned right side up again. Her glass coffee table has been cleaned up. A lot of her pictures were removed from the wall. She looks at the blood stain on her carpet before looking in the corner of her living room where her broken pieces of art were set. She walks over to the pile of colored canvasses and picks one up.

"It honestly looks better with the hole punched in it," Maya says, setting the picture back down.

Lucas follows her to her bedroom. The door was completely removed and leaning up against the wall. She looks down at her feet where another blood stain is. She walks over to her vanity and sees that most of her pictures were taken down except one of her and Riley from middle school. She picks the picture up and smiles at it, putting it in the back pocket of her jeans. She notices another picture that must've fallen out of the collection. Maya picks it up and sees that it's a picture of her and Tony.

Her mind flashes back to every time that Tony has ever hurt her. Her breathing gets heavier as she crumples that picture up in her hands. She throws it at the mirror of her vanity and throws other things, lying around the vanity at the mirror. When she runs out of things to throw, she throws her fist and breaks the mirror. Lucas wraps his arms around her tightly and rocks her back and forth to calm her down.

"Don't forget the letter," Lucas says, referencing the letter that Sadie had given her a few days ago.

Maya takes a few deep breaths and turns away from her cracked reflection in the mirror. She buries her head in Lucas's chest and embraces him.

"I can't be here right now. I thought I was ready. I'm sorry, Lucas," Maya says.

"It's okay, Maya. Whenever you're ready. Let's go," Lucas says. Maya nods and walks with Lucas to go back to his apartment.

* * *

Lucas wakes up in the middle of the night, and he can't get back to sleep. He checks on Sadie and Maya before walking up to the roof to look at the view. The wind is blowing, causing goosebumps to rise on Lucas's arms and torso. But he doesn't want to go back down stairs to get a blanket. He soaks in the peacefulness of the night sky and the lights of cars and some buildings far away. It's a whole different world out there, and he likes to think about that sometimes.

He thinks about how different his life would be if he made different decisions. He imagines going to college with Sadie and becoming a veterinarian, like he always wanted. He imagines going back home to Texas with Sadie and starting over. But there is one thing he can't think about how different things would be if he made a different decision, and that is Sadie.

He feels the warmth of a blanket being thrown over him, which startles him at first. He turns around to see Maya looking out at the city with him.

"Thank you," Lucas says, pulling the blanket tighter around him.

"You couldn't sleep either, huh?" Maya asks, pulling her own blanket tighter around her.

Lucas shakes his head, "No. I know the ballet recital is tonight, and I am just nervous."

Maya has a small smile on her face, "Why? Are you worried about Sadie? Because she is going to do just fine in the recital tonight. I saw her practicing in your gym. She looked really beautiful and graceful."

"Yea, she puts a lot of work into something she's passionate about," Lucas responds.

"Just like her father."

The two of them get quiet again. Enjoying the serenity of the moment. Lucas isn't looking at the city, anymore. His focus is completely on the woman beside him.

He has been looking for a mother-like figure for Sadie to rely on. He used to think that he would have to get married for Sadie to have another mother, but he isn't married to Maya. And Lucas realizes that Sadie sees Maya as her mother figure. Maya cares about Sadie. She worries about Sadie, encourages Sadie, and loves Sadie. That's what Sadie needs in a mother figure.

"Maya. Thank you for everything that you do for Sadie. I don't want to sound weird, but I think she sees you as a mother figure," Lucas says as Maya turns her head to look at him, "And I couldn't ask for anyone better for Sadie to look up to. I'm really lucky that she looks up to you."

"I'm really lucky that she does look up to me," Maya responds. Lucas sees her shiver and moves behind her. He wraps his blanketed arms around her to warm her up.

And they stay that way until sunrise.

* * *

Lucas takes a seat in the front row of the large theater. He places a bag with two bouquets of sweet pea flowers in the floor beside his feet. He feels anxious. But in the excited kind of way. A few people walk up to him and ask him for his autograph and a picture, which he kindly accepts before it is time for everybody to take their seats.

Riley and Farkle arrive and take their seats beside Lucas.

"How's Maya doing?" Riley asks.

"She seems to be doing better since she moved in with me. I hope she's doing better," Lucas responds.

Riley nods and pats his shoulder before the lights dim, signaling the beginning of the recital. The crowd gets quiet and watches as Madame Hart walks out from behind the large red curtain. Lucas's heart skips a beat when he sees her on the stage, smiling.

"Good evening!" Maya begins, "We would like to thank all of you for coming out tonight to see our production of The Nutcracker."

Everybody claps before Maya continues, "Your children have worked extremely hard on the production, and I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of every single one of your children. So, without further ado, The Nutcracker."

The crowd claps again, and Maya walks behind the curtain again. The crowd is silent as the curtain rises to reveal the adorable little ballerinas in their costumes. Lucas sees Sadie right off the bat. Her hair is curled but pulled back, half up, out of her face. She is twirling on her tippy toes, and she bumps into one of her friends. Sadie's face turns red, so Lucas knows that she messed up.

What surprises him is how she recovers.

"Pardon me, Flitz."

Lucas, as well as the other people in the crowd, giggle at Sadie's recovery, and her mispronunciation of the name "Fritz". But, she continues with her twirling.

-.-.-.

The recital turns out to be really good. Madame Hart taught her students well. There weren't a ton of mess ups. The students remembered most of their lines. It was a beautiful production put on by these four to seven year old girls and one boy.

Lucas's favorite parts included Sadie's big scene, which was Clara's dream. Lucas had proud dad-tears in his eyes as he watched his beautiful little girl dance gracefully across the stage. Another one of his favorite parts was when Maya came out for her scene. Lucas has never seen Maya dance before. No wonder her students looked so graceful when on the stage.

-.-.-.

Although The Nutcracker is usually a longer performance, Madame Hart and her students got finished with their production in a little under forty-five minutes. Maya comes out on stage again after the final scene and introduces her students, who come out on stage beside her and take a bow.

"Sadie Friar as Clara!" Maya calls out, and Lucas rises to his feet to cheer for his little girl. Sadie waves at the crowd and takes a bow before waving at her daddy.

After Maya finishes the crowd cheers, and they all take a bow before all of the little girls, and boy, rush backstage to get out of their costumes.

"I'll be right back," Lucas tells Riley and Farkle. He picks up the bag that holds Maya and Sadie's flowers in them and makes his way backstage to greet his excited daughter.

"Daddy! Did you see me?" Sadie asks.

Lucas laughs and picks Sadie up, giving her a big hug, "I did, kiddo. You did an amazing job, and I am so proud of you for working so hard on this."

"Thank you," Sadie says. Lucas sets her down on the ground again and pulls out a small bouquet of sweet peas and hands them to Sadie.

"Thank you, daddy! I love these kind."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Now go get dressed, so that I can take you and Maya out for dinner," Lucas tells her. Sadie nods and rushes to the dressing room to change out of her costume. Lucas looks around to find Maya's dressing room.

He didn't think that the auditorium could be as big as it, but it takes him a few minutes before he hears arguing in one of the dressing rooms. Lucas rushes over to the door and opens it to see Tony with his hand in the air. He quickly makes his way in front of Maya and stops Tony's hand from smacking her in the face.

Tony jerks his wrist from Lucas's hand, and he snickers.

"Well, well. Lucas Friar. Looks like one of us has to be the hero, huh? I try, but she's ungrateful," Tony says.

"I don't know what makes you think you can show up here and start this bullshit," Lucas responds. Tony's smirk disappears from his face.

He takes a step back, holding his hands up in defense, "I know you'll come running back to me, Maya. You've done it before. You just can't stay away from me."

"Why don't you just leave? Maya doesn't want to run back to you," Lucas says.

"Why don't you make me leave, big shot? Huh?" Tony asks.

Maya feels a low growl rumble in Lucas's chest before he says, "Because I'll have you running away after our fight. I know you think you can beat my ass because you think you can do that to anyone, but I have news for you. When we get in that ring in three days? I will show no mercy on you."

"We'll see Friar. I'll see you in my corner in three days, Maya. Have a nice night," Tony says.

Before he walks out he turns around and says, "Oh, and Friar?"

Lucas turns to look at him, but as soon as he does, Tony sucker punches him in the lip. Lucas stumbles and falls to the ground. He spits out a little bit of blood and wipes his lip from it.

"Lucas! Are you okay?" Maya asks, kneeling beside him. She take a look at his lip and helps him back up to his feet. Lucas has his fists clenched, as well as his jaw. He takes a few deep breaths, and he thinks about Sadie and Maya to calm him down.

"Are you okay?" Maya asks again.

Lucas takes another deep breath before wiping his lip from more blood, "Yea. I just, wasn't expecting that."

He turns around and grabs the bigger bouquet of sweet pea flowers before he forgets to give them to her. He is happy to see Maya's face change from fear and anger to happiness. She takes the flowers from Lucas and thanks him.

"They are beautiful. Thank you so much," She says and gives him a hug. Lucas wraps both of his arms around her and just wonders how anybody could lay a hateful hand on her.

Lucas really couldn't wait to get Tony in the ring.

* * *

 _ **Okay that's all for this chapter! I hope y'all liked it. Some of y'all probably suspect that Tony was going to show up, but I needed the dramatic flare added to it.**_

 _ **The next chapter is going to be a short one. It will discuss Tony's sucker punch, and we will get a conversation between Riley and Maya that has her thinking.**_

 _ **Then it will be fight night! (Plus a shocking plot twist)**_

 _ **Y'all are gonna love it!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Hey y'all! I am very very grateful for all of you who read and love my story. I am super stoked about this. Thank y'all.  
**_

 _ **I am going to hold out on updating Friar Family Ties until I finish this story because there are only a three chapters left, including this one. But, I have two chapters posted for Friar Family Ties already, if any of you are interested in seeing that.**_

 _ **This is going to be a short chapter. It'll discuss the fallout of Tony punching Lucas in the last chapter.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

Lucas gets a phone call the day before the fight from his agent, Nick. Sadie and Maya are asleep in their rooms, so Lucas doesn't feel like he has to be careful with his words. He knows why Nick is calling him. It was bound to happen after what happened a few nights ago. He probably could've hid what happened if it weren't for a few fans, who asked Lucas for his autograph the night of Sadie's ballet recital, taking pictures of him, Maya, and Sadie leaving the auditorium after the incident happened. Lucas was pissed when he saw those pictures online.

"Hey, Lucas. Did I wake just wake you up?" Nick asks.

"Yea, but it's fine," Lucas yawns, "I was actually expecting your call."

"About that. Because there are "witnesses" and photographic evidence of what happened between you and Mr. Espinoza, they want you to hold a press conference," Nick explains.

Lucas groans, "I am really tired of holding these press conferences. I need to focus on my match with Tony tomorrow. I need to train, and I need to keep studying his moves."

"Lucas, we don't know if there's gonna be a match tomorrow. Tony violated a major rule in the contract that the both of you signed. Not to mention that people are now suspicious of his violent nature towards that girl. That's why you need to have the press conference. If you want to fight Tony tomorrow, then you need to do this. Don't bring Sadie, don't bring Maya. Tony will be there and things will get messier if either one of them are there," Nick says.

"What time?" Lucas asks.

"I've already talked to the executives of SportsCenter and ESPN to schedule a time around eleven a.m. so be ready at that time," Nick responds.

"Okay, I'll be ready," Lucas says.

"I'll feel you in on some details when you arrive. Try to be there at 10:30."

"Okay."

Lucas hangs the phone up. He tosses his phone to the other side of his bed and pinches the bridge of his nose. He really can't wait for this whole thing to be over with. He's happy that this is for a good cause but going against an opponent like Tony Espinoza takes all of his excitement and joy out of the situation.

He doesn't see Maya knock on his door, but when he hears it, he lifts his head up to look at her.

"Anything I can do to help?" Maya asks.

"You heard that?"

Maya nods and slowly walks over to his bed and sits down next to him. She lays a supportive hand on his shoulder as Lucas buries his head in his hands.

"Nick told me that Tony was going to be at the press conference. He said that you and Sadie shouldn't be there. And I agree with him. Could you do me a favor and make sure that Sadie doesn't watch the press conference? It's going to be very tense, and I just don't want her to see that."

"But you let her watch you pummel other guys to the ground?" Maya asks with a slight snicker.

Lucas grins and looks at her, "I try not to let her watch that. I told Emma, her old babysitter, that when I hired her. But, Sadie somehow managed to watch one of my fights after Emma thought she went to sleep."

"How did that go?" Maya asks.

"Not well. She was scared. She thought I was getting really hurt, and she thought I hurt my opponent badly. I had to explain to her that it was friendly fight. That my opponent and I were friends and that we were just having a friendly competition. Then, when Emma told me that Sadie punched her leg because she was being 'friendly', I had to explain to her, again, that she should never hit, pinch, or kick anybody unless she has to defend herself. And I completely banned her from watching any of my matches."

Maya giggles, "She's something, isn't she?"

"Really."

The of them get quiet for a moment. Lucas stares at his feet digging into the carpet, and Maya stares at him. Maya can't help but fall in love with his green eyes again. She knows how much stress she has caused for Lucas due to her involvement with Tony, and she feels bad about it. She feels like a burden to Lucas. He has been there for her, supporting her, when it came to her relationship. Maybe it wasn't in the best way, but she still appreciates everything he has done for her in the last few weeks.

She wraps her arms around his collarbones and leans her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you."

Lucas turns to look at her but puts his hand over her arm that's wrapped around his collarbones, "For what?"

"For taking care of me. For helping me when I was in the hospital and when I got out of the hospital. For teaching me self defense. For being there," Maya says.

Lucas continues to look into her eyes as she talks.

"Before you walked into my dance studio the first time, I felt like I was unworthy, useless, stupid, only good for one thing. I felt like that because of Tony, and I knew that if I didn't get help soon, that I wouldn't be here today. But when you and Sadie showed up again, I knew that help was on the way."

"Maya. You are worthy. You are not useless or stupid. You're actually very smart. And you are beautiful. I've always wanted Sadie to have a good mother-like, woman figure in her life, and you are perfect for that. And we love you. We always have, and we always will," Lucas responds.

Maya and Lucas don't say anything else. Everything else that is need to be said is being said with their eyes. Maya wraps her hand around Lucas's neck and pulls his lips to hers. Lucas closes his eyes, but his eyebrows are raised in surprise. He gently caresses her cheek with his hand as he returns the kiss, and Maya now has his face in her hands.

She moves her leg over his hips to straddle him, and she pushes him backwards to where he is now laying down on his bed. Maya moves her hair out of her face and leans over to crash their lips together again. Lucas places his hands on her hips and moves them up and down her body. Maya slips her tongue into Lucas's mouth in a slow motion, making them both moan. This ignites something in the both of them. He flips her over on her back, and he kisses her neck. Maya runs her fingers through his hair.

Lucas has wanted this for so long, but he can't continue. He pulls away and immediately start to apologize.

Maya sits up, wondering if she did anything wrong, "Why are you saying sorry? I was the one who pulled you in."

"I'm sorry, Maya, but I can't do this yet. I want to, I really want to, but you had just gotten out of a long term, abusive relationship. I don't want to take advantage of you or your feelings," Lucas explains.

Maya's heart bursts, but not in a bad way. She smiles at him and lays her hand on his shoulder again.

"Thank you, Lucas."

* * *

Lucas walks over to the curtain that will lead to the press conference room. The cameras are ready, the press is ready, everybody is ready, including him.

"Remember what we talked about. Tell them the truth," Nick reminds Lucas, patting his shoulders. Lucas nods and walks out to the chair to the far end of the table, knowing that Tony will be on the other side.

Nick comes out after Lucas, and then the rest of Lucas's team. Tony walks out with his team and agent following behind him. They all take a seat and get the press conference started.

"We are here to discuss the allegations of a contract violation made by Mr. Anthony Espinoza against Mr. Lucas Friar on the night of March 1, 2016. Before we let the fighters take their stand on the situation, we will read the story of what we think happened that night based on sources. Then we will read the statements made by the witnesses."

Everybody in the room nods and the story is read. As the story is read, Lucas can tell that the story is a bit exaggerated, as is every story in the entertainment business. The eye witness statements are also a bit exaggerated but not completely false.

"Because Lucas Friar is the fighter whom was hit, he may take the stand first and tell his side of the story."

Lucas stands up and walks over to the podium and speaks into the microphone.

"On the night of March 1st, I attended the amazing production of _The Nutcracker_ , which was put on by Madame Hart Dance Studio. I was there to support my daughter, Sadie, and to support my friend, Maya," Lucas begins.

"My girlfriend!" Tony interrupts.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Espinoza, but I believe it's my turn to talk right now, thank you," Lucas responds.

"Anyway. After the recital was over, I walked backstage to give my daughter some flowers, and I was trying to find Ms. Hart to give her a bouquet of flowers as well. The auditorium has a huge backstage, but I was lucky enough to find Ms. Hart's dressing room before she was attacked, yet again, by Mr. Espinoza. Seeing as she had been out of the hospital for not even a week before Tony shows up again to "teach her a lesson", so I defended my friend. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I did start the argument that led up to the confrontation, but I didn't hit him back; therefore, I am not in violation of my contract," Lucas says.

"But I would like to as the board to hear me out. Our match is scheduled for tomorrow night. We will have the largest audience in attendance and an even larger audience spending money to watch it at home. All of the money that will be given to various charities. I ask you not to cancel our fight tomorrow night. I don't hold a grudge for what Mr. Espinoza did to me the other night."

Everybody is dead silent as Lucas keeps talking. He looks at Nick, who holds two thumbs up.

"And if you don't mind, I would like to add something onto this," Lucas looks directly into the camera and says, "Anybody out there who is watching this right now and is in an abusive relationship. I want you to know that you aren't alone. If you ever need any help dealing with how to get out of an abusive relationship then please call the domestic abuse hotline. You are a strong individual, and what happened to you isn't your fault. Thank you," Lucas finishes.

"Anthony Espinoza will now give his side of the story."

Tony walks over to the podium, but not before slyly smiling at Lucas. He wipes the smile off his face and replaces it with empathy.

"Thank you all for coming, but I cannot give my side of the story to this confrontation. Because Mr. Friar retold what happened correctly. I do have anger issues, but I am trying to work on them. I am seeing a counselor, and I use boxing to help me unleash my anger. Mr. Friar," Tony says looking over to Lucas, who knows that he is a filthy liar.

"I would like to offer my most sincere apology to you. I would also like to offer an apology to the sport, to the leaders, and to the board. I would like to ask you to not cancel our fight tomorrow night. It is for charity after all," Tony finishes and walks back to his seat.

Lucas glares at the smug look on Tony face. He knows, though, that that look on his face right now won't be there tomorrow night.

Good luck, Tony. You're gonna need it.

* * *

 _ **Alright! I think this was probably longer than I was planning. (Ngl, I got a little carried away with the second Lucaya kiss.)**_

 _ **Anyway, I hope y'all liked it.**_

 _ **Next chapter is fight night. Only two chapters left!**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Y'all ready! You should be because it's Fight Night! I really am grateful to every single one of you who have read this and kept up with the story even though I am not the most consistent updater. I am really appreciative of every single one of you, so I hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

 _ **After this chapter, there will be one more chapter left.**_

 _ **Anyway, there will be a lot of exciting stuff to happen in this chapter so read on!**_

* * *

Lucas wakes up early, which isn't unusual for him. He always has trouble sleeping the night before a big match, and the stress of these last few months are really catching up to him. He feels the physical pain of the stress in his shoulders, back, feet, and head.

He walks quietly downstairs at three in the morning and makes his way to his living room. He leans his head on the arm of the couch and lays down, resting his body. The anxiety of the match tonight taking a toll on him. His stomach hurts' he feels like he needs to go to the bathroom. He twiddles his thumbs and can't keep still long enough for him to catch a little bit of sleep. It's hard for him to keep his thoughts in order.

And he knows that this feeling will get worse as the day goes on.

What he doesn't know, now, is who's footsteps are walking down the stairs as well. Because she has a habit of waking up early as well, Lucas automatically thinks that it's Maya. It surprises him, though, when he sees his little girl crawl onto the couch and lay down beside him. Lucas scoots closer to the back of the couch to allow some room for his daughter to get comfortable.

"What are you doing up? Are you okay?" Lucas asks.

Sadie sighs, "I am okay."

"You don't sound okay. Now tell me what's wrong, and remember, daddies always know when their children are lying," Lucas says.

"I'm scared that you're gonna get hurt in your match," Sadie responds. Lucas had a feeling that she was going to say that. He moves his arm up and wraps it around Sadie and pulls her close.

"It's okay to be scared," Lucas begins,"But I promise that I'm gonna be okay. No matter how many times I get hit. No matter how many times I get kicked. I'm gonna be okay, now do you wanna know why?"

Sadie nods as Lucas continues,"I am gonna be okay because I know that I have the best daughter in the world cheering me on, and I will be okay because of her," Lucas explains, tickling her side. She lets out a cute little giggle and wraps her tiny arm around Lucas.

"Promise?" Sadie asks, holding her pinky finger up.

Lucas sticks his pinky finger up as well and wraps it around hers, "Promise."

Lucas and Sadie stay on the couch and listen to the sound of the silence before the sound helps them fall asleep.

* * *

Maya wakes up in the guest room of Lucas's penthouse. She yawns and stretches before swinging her legs off the bed and setting them down on the ground. She groans in pain a little bit because the bruises on her legs haven't even begun to heal. She walks out of the room and goes to check on Lucas and Sadie. When she sees that neither of them are in their rooms she walks downstairs to grab a coat, thinking they were up on the roof, but she stops when she sees them asleep on the living room couch.

Maya's heart heats up at the adorable sight, and she can't help but turn into one of those girls who takes a picture of the moment. Unfortunately, she forgot that her phone makes a sound when she takes a picture, and the shutter sound wakes Lucas from his slumber.

He looks at her with confusion written all over his face.

Maya quickly holds both of her hands up, "I swear. I wasn't being creepy. I thought the two of you looked cute, and I wanted to capture it and show it to you later."

Lucas's face goes from confused to amused. He laughs and gently gets off the couch, careful to not wake Sadie up. He takes a look at the picture, and Maya's right. They did look cute.

"It's alright," Lucas says. He turns around and carefully picks Sadie off of the couch, "I'm gonna take her up to her room. I'll be right back."

Maya nods and waits for Lucas to come back downstairs. She thinks about how different things are now that she's basically living with Lucas and Sadie. She doesn't have to sit in her apartment anymore, scared that Tony could barge in at any time. She feels relieved here. She feels safe.

She sits down on the couch and looks at the picture of Lucas and Sadie, feeling the same emotion she felt when she actually notice them on the couch sleeping. And she smiles, holding the phone close to her chest. She feels like such a schoolgirl doing this, but she can't help it. It's all Lucas and Sadie's fault. They make her genuinely happy.

Lucas comes back downstairs and takes a seat beside Maya. He gets comfortable and lays his head in his hand that is rested upon the back of the couch.

"Penny for your thoughts, Ranger Rick?"

"I'm just thinking about the match, tonight. I'm thinking about Sadie. And I'm thinking about you," Lucas explains.

"You're nervous about the match. And you don't want Sadie and me to watch. I understand," Maya says.

"Well. Sadie really wants to come tonight. I tried to talk her out of it, but she says that she can handle it. She told me that she won't be able to focus on anything else if she can't go," Lucas says.

"What are you going to do?"

"I feel like I'm gonna regret this, but I think I'm gonna let her go. I know it'll be scary for her, but I promised her that I'd be okay. And I think I could probably do better knowing that I have y'all cheering me on," Lucas pauses, "Unless you decide not to go, which is okay, I can call and ask Zay to watch Sadie. It doesn't matter."

"It's fine Lucas. I was going to go anyway."

"Wait, really? Why?" Lucas asks.

"Because it's you, Lucas. You have supported me through so much these last few months. I want you to know that I support you too. No matter what the outcome is, I am proud of you," Maya responds.

"Thanks, Maya."

* * *

Lucas arrives at the arena with Maya, Sadie, Riley, Farkle, and Zay at six-thirty. The match doesn't start until nine, and to be honest, Lucas doesn't know why he has to arrive at the arena so early, but he's there. And so are a lot of reporters, paparazzi, and a few celebrities.

Lucas bends down to Sadie's face, "If you don't want to talk to any of the reporters, then you don't have to. Daddy has to talk to a few, but I would like it if you would walk with me."

"It's okay, daddy. I'll walk with you," Sadie responds. Lucas picks her up and walks down the carpet with her. The rest of the gang walk into the arena and find their seats in the front row. Lucas stops to do a few interviews with Sadie, and when he walks inside the building, he sees Maya waiting to take Sadie to their seats.

Lucas makes his way back to the locker room of the arena. Here, he takes a moment to take a seat and take a few deep breaths.

He gets changed. He takes his jeans off and puts his red boxing shorts on. He takes his blue button up shirt off and sets it in the cubby. He unlaces his shoes and puts them in the cubby as well. He puts his black boxing boots on and laces those up quickly. He grabs the roll of tape out of his bag and carefully but precisely tapes his hands up before he has to stick them into his boxing gloves.

Only an hour and a half left until the match begins.

He sits down in the chair in front of the cubby and puts some earbuds in his ears, turning his music up as loud as it will go. He closes his eyes and takes another deep breath.

He feels like he's been sitting there forever, and it's his agent, Nick, who brings him out of his daze. Lucas takes his music out and pulls out his red and blue robe.

"It's time. You ready?" Nick asks.

Lucas nods, and Nick says, "I saw your daughter with Maya a while ago. The celebrities really love Sadie."

This brings a smile on his face. _Of course they would. Who doesn't love her?_

"Lucas? I just want you to know that no matter what happens tonight, you're walking out of here a winner. And you're walking out of here a good guy. I'm really proud of you, and thank you for taking a chance on me," Nick says.

"Thanks for taking a chance on me," Lucas says.

* * *

The two men walk out of the locker room towards the main entrance. Lucas can here the announcer begin the scripted speech. The audience cheering and clapping along after every word he says.

"Who's ready for the match to begin!" The announcer yells, and the audience cheers loudly.

"Our first boxer is a rising star in the sport. He is undefeated with a record of 21-0. They call him 'El Diablo' for a reason. From El Paso, Texas, here he is, Tony Espinoza!" The announcer yells.

Lucas listens to the audience cheers over Tony's ring music. Nick helps him put his boxing gloves on. He pulls the hood of his robe over his head and walks over to the curtain with his ring team.

"Good luck, Lucas."

"Our next boxer is a fan favorite. He, too, is undefeated with a record of 40-0. Get ready! From Austin, Texas, here he is, the challenger, Lucas Friar!"

Lucas comes out from behind the curtain and makes his way to the ring. He drowns out the noise of the loud audience. He sees Sadie and Maya on his side of the ring, and he smiles and waves at them before climbing into the ring. He hypes the crowd a little bit more before his ring music stops playing.

Lucas walks over to his corner, and his team helps him. They take off his robe and put his mouth guard in his mouth. Before one of Lucas's ring team members puts the safety helmet on him, he stops it.

"I don't want it," Lucas says. Reluctantly, the team member puts the helmet away and continues to help Lucas prepare as the announcer is reading the stipulations to the audience.

"Boxers! Are you ready?" The referee asks the both of them.

Tony nods and smirks at Lucas. Lucas nods and holds his gloves up in a friendly matter. Tony smacks Lucas's hands away and the crowd reacts. Tony takes his glove off and quickly blows a kiss towards Maya. Lucas doesn't look at her because he knows that she'll distract him.

The ref allows the match to start and it doesn't take long before punches are thrown. Lucas dodges a punch from Tony and wraps his arms around Tony's torso, bringing him down to the ground. He gets a couple of punches to Tony's face before Tony pushes Lucas off of him.

Lucas stands up, and Tony sucker punches him. Lucas sees Sadie hiding her face in her hands, and Maya comforting her, which causes another distraction. Tony punches him in the face again, knocking him to the ground. Tony backs away, holding his arms up like he's already won the match.

Lucas uses the ropes on the ring to help him stand back up and gain his stamina back. One minute into the match, and he's already exhausted.

"C'mon, Lucas! Kick his butt!" Riley yells.

"Yea! C'mon Lucas! You can do this! Zay yells too.

Lucas throws a few jabs towards Tony's stomach. He doesn't block all of them, but he blocks most of them, which isn't good for Lucas.

Lucas finally throws a surprising upper cut, knocking Tony off his feet. Tony gets up and immediately runs after Lucas, who isn't running. Tony punches his temple and punches him again in the face. Lucas wipes the blood coming our of his nose off on his arm and focuses on Tony only. He's able to do some damage.

"Time!" The referee calls. Lucas stumbles over to his side of the ring. One of his team members takes his mouth guard out of his mouth as another one squirts water into his mouth. Lucas spits the water out into a bucket, not wanting to drink too much water during the match. Another team member is holding a miniature fan in his face to cool him off, and another team member wipes the blood off of Lucas's nose, which hurts like hell, but Lucas's adrenaline levels are up too high to even care.

"Lucas. You're letting everybody get in your head," His coach tells him, "Don't let that fool's cockiness get to you. Don't mistake that cockiness as talent. He's good. He makes quick decisions, but that is what is making his hits on you look and feel sloppy. Don't be afraid to surprise him. Now go back out there."

Lucas receives his mouth guard again and stands up. He jumps a little bit to get his stamina up. Tony is ready to punch.

Lucas remembers studying his moves on tape. He'll take a step forward and try to punch. So Lucas watches for his left foot to move forward, and when it does, Lucas doesn't hesitate to block the jab and get his own punch to Tony's throat. Tony coughs and tries to assess what happens quickly before Lucas can hit him again.

He takes another step forward, and Lucas sweeps his foot underneath Tony's leg, tripping him. Lucas punches Tony's torso. He stands up and allows Tony to regain his posture before going at it again.

This time, Tony catches what Lucas is doing, so he grabs Lucas's shoulders and knees him in the groin. Lucas doubles over in pain and holds his groin, hearing the people "boo" at Tony's dirty move. Lucas stands up, but is knocked over by Tony again. Tony takes his boxing glove covered fists and drives it into Lucas's face and torso. It hurts, but Lucas knows that the referee can't do anything because of the stipulations. All of Tony's moves are legal.

Lucas's head is facing towards Sadie and Maya. Sadie has a few tears in her eyes, and Maya is trying to assure her that Lucas is going to be okay.

After a few more punches to the face, Lucas is spitting out blood. The referee calls time, but he walks over to Lucas.

"Are you able to continue?" The referee asks.

Lucas groggily stands up and spits out more blood before nodding. He, again, stumbles over to his ring corner, holding his ribs. He feels like he is going to lose. His team members help him clean himself off a little bit, getting the bulk of the blood off of his face and chest.

"Excuse me, sir?" Lucas snaps his head over to his coach and sees Maya, "May I talk to him this time, please? I think I know something that will help."

Lucas's coach nods and steps out of the way for Maya to climb onto the apron of the ring. She looks into Lucas's eyes.

"It's okay," She says, "You are doing great out there. I just want to ask you something."

Lucas looks at her as she asks, "Do you want to win?"

Lucas nods.

"You need to find "Texas Lucas". Don't be afraid to show that side of you on account of Sadie and me. I already explained to Sadie what needs to happen for you to win. I told her that you aren't a monster, and she shouldn't be afraid of you, and she shouldn't be afraid of seeing you get hit. If you need any motivation, just remember every horrible thing he has ever said and done to you. Find "Texas Lucas"," Maya tells him. She gives him a quick peck on the lips and rushes back to her seat.

Lucas puts his mouth guard back in and stands up. Tony is already ready for him.

"That's cute, Friar," He says, "I remember when she done that to me."

Lucas ignores him and closes his eyes. All he sees his how hurt Maya was because of Tony. He sees how scared Sadie was because of Tony. And he wants to show that asshole that he can't get away with messing with his girls.

The referee starts the last round of the match, and Lucas starts to show no mercy.

Lucas is blocking and throwing jabs left and right, but all he can see are the bad things that Tony has done to them. He sees Maya's bruises. He's sees the worried look on Sadie's face after their first press conference together. He sees Tony punching him after the ballet recital. Everything he sees is helping him defend himself from Tony.

Then everything goes dark.

* * *

"Lucas? Are you waking up?"

Lucas's vision is blurred, but he can make out that sweet female voice. Once he regains perfect vision, he realizes that he's not in the ring anymore.

"Hey, Huckleberry," Maya says.

Lucas groans and looks over at the blonde beauty in the hospital. She's sitting in the chair beside the bed. She had changed out of what she was wearing to the match, so he must've been there for a while.

"What happened?" Lucas asks, feeling the bandage on his head, which is killing him.

"You won. But, Tony wasn't too happy about it."

Lucas smiles. Even though he's laying in a hospital bed right now, he still won. He's not a failure to his little girl. He then realizes that Sadie was there. He sit up in the bed, and Maya tries to stop him. She gently lays her hand on his chest and pushes him back to where he's laying down.

"Hey. Hey. You need to rest. You have some serious injuries. Don't risk anything by being stupid," Maya tells him.

"Where's Sadie?" Lucas asks.

At the perfect moment, Riley, Farkle, Zay, and Sadie walk into the emergency room.

"Daddy!" Sadie yells. She runs over to his bed side. Zay walks over and lifts the little girl up, so she can give her daddy a quick hug.

"I thought you were going to break your promise," She says.

"Break my promise? I would never," Lucas jokes, holding Sadie's tiny hand. Maya stands up as the rest of the gang surround Lucas by his bedside.

"Thank you guys, for being there for me. I probably wouldn't have been able to do it without y'all," Lucas says.

"Anytime, man," Zay responds, "But seriously, you should probably stay away from boxing for a while. You got really hurt, and I don't think any of us, especially this little one, can bare to see you go through this again."

Zay picks Sadie up, and Sadie nods in agreement.

Lucas smiles, "Fine. I won't box for a while. How can I when I'm going to be going back to school?"

"What?" Maya asks.

"Online. I've been wanting to go back to college and major in something useful. I mean, yea, I get paid a lot for boxing, but I don't want to put you guys through this again," Lucas explains.

The gang agrees with him.

After a while of talking, Riley, Farkle, and Zay head home, and Sadie is asleep in a reclining chair that a nice nurse brought in just for her.

"Thank you for being there for me, Maya. I know it was hard for you to see Tony again."

"I wasn't afraid to see him again. I thought I was, but once I did, I just realized how much of a coward he is. It was hard for me to watch you being put onto a stretcher and into an ambulance. I don't know if I could see any of you be put through that, ever," Maya explains.

Lucas has a hold of Maya's hand and he brings it up to his lips and places a gentle kiss on them.

"I don't know how you're going to react, and I know that I've said this before, but I am being serious. I am in love with you, Maya Penelope Hart. I thought I would never get over you. And I know that it's my fault, but after we ended things the first time, it crushed me. And then, when I thought I could maybe find another woman to fall in love with, you show up again. And you look after Sadie, and you take care of her. It's everything that I want in a relationship. I love you. But I understand if you don't want to be with me. I wouldn't want to be with me either," Lucas says.

Maya smiles, "I love you too, Huckleberry. I feel like I can trust you again, but can you blame me for being a little hesitant? I mean after what happened between us in high school, and then what happened with Tony? I'm just not looking for a relationship, but I'll tell you something."

"What is it?" Lucas asks.

"I won't go out with anybody else if you don't," Maya responds. Lucas laughs as she continues, "That way, when I am ready to be in a relationship with you again, you won't be married to the perfect woman. Deal?"

"Deal."

Maya and Lucas shake hands.

"Maya?" Lucas calls before she stands up, "The only perfect woman, I hope to be married to is you."

Maya smiles again, "Nighty night, Huckleberry."

* * *

 _ **There you go! I hope you enjoyed fight night! I hope it's not boring. I hope y'all liked that Lucas and Maya scene I added at the end as well as the Lucas and Sadie scene at the beginning.**_

 _ **The next chapter is the last chapter, and I know what you're thinking: "What else is there to read?"**_

 _ **Well we gotta find out what happened to Tony, and we still have that plot twist!**_

 _ **Love y'all!**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Here we are! The last chapter of my first story! I am very thankful to those of you who have read, reviewed, etc. Y'all have given me a new found confidence in myself as a writer, and I hope to have my own works in the making soon!**_

 _ **I hope y'all like this chapter (Some of you may hate me at the end, but it'll be okay).**_

 _ **I don't want to give too much away, so I'm just going to write the last chapter already.**_

* * *

Maya slowly creeps into Sadie Friar's bedroom with a smile on her face. She takes a seat on the little girl's mattress and gently wakes the sleeping child.

"Sadie, wake up. We have a big day today! I need your help," Maya sings.

"You have a pretty voice," Sadie mumbles making Maya giggle.

"Get out of the bed you silly goose," Maya says.

Sadie giggles. The small child, who is already excited about the big day, perks herself up and quickly jumps out of her bed. Maya follows her out of her room and into the laundry room to help Sadie pick out her clothes.

"Go get changed, and you can come with Riley and me to get the decorations, okay?" Maya says. Sadie nods with a big smile on her face and rushes off to grab a change of clothes.

Maya walks back to her room and grabs a change of clothes too. She decides to change into a floral print dress that falls just above the knee. She puts on a pair of her brown boots. She looks at herself in the mirror and pulls her hair out of the messy pony tail, which has been in her hair for a few days now. She brushes and straightens her hair, leaving it down for today. And she gets her make up out, still covering the bruises on her face from Tony's abuse.

She knows that it will take a long time for these bruises to heal. But she can't shake the feeling that when she is with Sadie and Lucas then her bruises heal faster. Maybe it's science. Maybe it's psychology. Maybe she should ask Farkle.

There is a knock on the door, and Maya immediately rushes to the front door before Sadie can. She can't let Sadie invite any strangers into the penthouse.

When she opens the door she sees her perky, and glowing, best friend. Maya is glad that she has two perky girls by her side to help her get this thing for the 'big day' done. She knows she can't do it alone.

"Hey, Riley! C'mon in," Maya greets her best friend. Riley walks in and shuts the door behind her, looking in awe at the penthouse.

"No way," She says.

Maya laughs, "That was my reaction when I first came here."

"Maya! Now you have a big bathroom!" Riley teases her.

Sadie comes down stairs trying to take her hair down. She looks frustrated but greets Riley with a smile on her face anyway.

"Are you guys ready?" Riley asks.

"Not yet, let me grab my jacket," Maya responds. She's about to walk upstairs before Sadie stops her.

"Maya? Can you do my hair, please?" Sadie asks, struggling to pull her down from her messy pony tail. Maya giggles and walks over to Sadie. She gently tugs the hair bow out of Sadie's light brown hair. Maya goes upstairs to grab a hairbrush, and she grabs her jacket while she's there. When she comes back downstairs she asks Sadie what she would like done to her hair.

"Can you do this?" Sadie asks, showing a picture of the hairstyle on her phone. Maya nods, and all of the girls walk into the living room to sit down.

Maya brushes the tangles out of Sadie's hair before she puts a middle part in it. Once she does that, she take the two front strands of her hair that frames her face and french braids them until they meet together in the back of her head. She then takes what strands of hairs are left and wraps them around the braid in the back, taking all of Sadie's hair off of her neck.

"Do you have bobby pins?" Maya asks. Riley looks around her large purse and pulls out a few bobby pins that Maya uses to pin Sadie's hair down so that it doesn't mess up.

"Thank you, Maya," Sadie says grabbing her coat.

"Anytime sweetie," Maya responds as the girls walk out of the door.

"She adores you," Riley says all giddy-like, "She talks about you and Lucas all the time at the daycare center. You want to hear a secret?"

Sadie isn't listening to the conversation that the older women are having. She's happily skipping along in her own little world.

"What?" Maya whispers.

"She's accidentally called you 'mom' at the daycare center. You're like a mother to her. How does that make you feel?" Riley whispers back.

Maya can feel that warmth of joy spread throughout her body. Of course, Sadie would look at Maya as mother. Maya has been there for her since she was born and will still be there for that girl. Even when she used to feel like murdering Lucas, she couldn't stay away from Sadie. Sadie will always feel like a daughter to her.

She just doesn't know if she's ready to tell Lucas that.

* * *

Lucas walks out of the bathroom changed into a pair of jeans and a nice shirt that Maya had brought for him to wear. It's been a week since the boxing match against Tony, and he finally gets to leave the hospital today. He is happy that he won his match. He is happy that he doesn't have to stress over the match or Tony ever again.

One night, earlier in the week after Maya left, Lucas turned the television in his room to SportsCenter, which covered the story of the historic match. He got to see his victorious moment. He knocked Tony out and won the match. After that last hit against Tony, he remembers that he completely blacked out. Lucas hates that he can't remember his winning moment, but he does have a concussion.

He also saw Tony get up a minute or so after the punch that costed him the match, and he saw how mad Tony got.

He could only imagine how bad it must have been for Maya. He still gets a bad taste in his mouth about the whole situation, but Maya is tougher than him. She has been though a lot because of Tony. That's why he wanted to pummel Tony to the ground.

He unmutes the television to listen to a press conference about Tony. The commissioner of the boxing program that Lucas is apart of is standing at the podium. Nick and Tony's agents are present at the podium as well.

"I have called a press conference because I feel that we need to be here to address the concerns of the violent acts that took place directly after the charity match between Lucas Friar and Anthony Espinoza a week ago. Firstly, I would like to inform the public of Lucas's condition. During and after the match, Mr. Friar received a few broken ribs, and numerous blows to the head and face that resulted in a major concussion. He went through concussion protocol with some of the finest doctors in New York City, and he is set to be released from the hospital today."

Nick takes his turn at the podium, saying, "Lucas would like to thank everybody who came out to the match as well as everybody who watched at home. Because of you guys, we raised over $500,000 for various charities. Lucas would also like me to inform you that he has very important news, but he told me not say what that news was because he would like to do it himself. Be prepared for that. Thank you.'

Lucas can't help but laugh at how Nick said that last part.

The commissioner steps forward again, "Now, I would like to address Mr. Espinoza's behavior prior to the match and after the match. Mr. Espinoza has been known for his violent streak, but never would I have thought that Mr. Espinoza's violent streak would escalate that quickly. We here in the boxing industry know that some of our athletes use boxing as a coping mechanism for anger, but in cases like these, we must ask Mr. Espinoza to enroll into anger management classes, or we will terminate his contract. After the charity match and the allegations concerning his former partner, who I will not name, it is imperative that he take these classes. It is true that physical evidence has appeared that Anthony Espinoza has committed the crime of domestic abuse. Here to speak more on the subject is Mr. Espinoza's agent and representative."

Lucas turns the television off. He walks over to the window and looks out at the rest of the city. He is startled when he hears Farkle's voice. He turns around and greets Farkle with a smile.

"It's nice to see you up and moving around," Farkle begins, "How do you feel?"

"A little dizzy, but I'll be okay. I'm just ready to go home," Lucas explains. Farkle nods and hugs his best friend. Lucas takes a seat on the hospital bed while Farkle takes the chair.

"I've been told to come pick you up."

"I though Maya and Sadie we're picking me up," Lucas says confused.

"Well, change of plans. Let's go fruit fly," Farkle says.

Lucas chuckles, "Fruit fly?"

"I can't call you a freak forever."

.~.~.~.

Lucas has no idea what's going on. He's ready to go home, and Farkle keeps making excuses. He keeps saying 'Riley needs this' or 'I need to pick something up at home', which is a forty-five minute drive away from the destination that Lucas really wants to be. Now Lucas is blindfolded because Farkle said that was the only way he could go home.

"Whatever. Let's just go," Lucas responds, putting the blindfold on himself.

Farkle, with a devilish grin on his face, backs out of the driveway of his home and heads back to the city. He quickly shoots Riley a message saying that they arrived when they did arrive in the parking garage.

Farkle helps guide Lucas out of car and into the building. Lucas keeps asking if he can take the blindfold off already, but Farkle keeps rejecting. An elevator ride later, they appear at his front door. Farkle opens the door and guides Lucas inside.

"Okay. One, two, three!" Farkle yells, quickly taking the blindfold off of Lucas, who is surprised by his family and friends.

"SURPRISE!"

"Oh my God!" Lucas says in shock, "This is amazing!"

He takes a look around at the scene. Everybody that he cares about most is there with a huge smile on their faces. The place is nicely decorated with streamers and banners that read 'welcome home' and 'congratulations'. Lucas is pulled out of his thoughts when his little girl calls his name.

"Daddy!" Sadie yells and runs into his arms.

"Hey, munchkin! I've missed being here so much," Lucas responds wrapping his arms tightly around his daughter. She does the same thing to him, making his heart swell with joy and adorableness. He picks her up in his arms and rests her on his hip.

"This party is so awesome. Thank you guys for being here," Lucas says.

"You should be thanking that little one," Maya says gesturing towards Sadie.

Lucas smiles and kisses his daughter's forehead, "Thank you. This means a whole lot to daddy. I am so lucky to have you. Love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, daddy."

* * *

After the party was over, Riley and Farkle stayed to help clean up. Lucas and Maya are in the living room, cleaning up a little trash that was left behind by some of the guests.

Lucas looks over at the couch, where Sadie is asleep. He laughs a little bit and sets the trash bag down.

"She certainly likes to party. Reminds me of her father," Maya jokes, "Keep an eye out on her in the future."

He chuckles, "I'm going to take her to her room. I'll be right back," He says, lifting his little girl up into his arm, careful not to wake her, and makes his way upstairs.

Maya is shoving more trash into a trash bag before she hears a knock on the door. She's about to set the stuff in her hands down to get the door, but Farkle says that he'll get it. She wonders who it could be. She's pretty sure that all of the guests didn't leave anything.

Lucas walks back downstairs and picks up where he left off.

"I'm sorry you got hurt," Maya says, "I guess we're matchers now."

She's gesturing to the bruises they both have on their faces. Lucas doesn't take the joke lightly. He actually takes it seriously. He drops the bag of trash again and steps closer to her. She doesn't know what he's going to do, but it excites her.

She actually trusts Lucas, and that's why she feels excited. Lucas smirks and wraps his arms around Maya's waist, pulling her closer to him.

"I got hurt because of me, not you. This isn't your fault. Nothing that happened to you and me is your fault. Understand?" Lucas asks.

Maya nods and holds onto the collar of his shirt. She pulls his face closer to his by pulling on his collar. Just as their lips are about to meet, his name is called.

"Lucas! You have a visitor at the door!" Farkle yells. When Farkle walks over to Riley, he sees that she has a horrified look on her face.

Maya walks out of the living room behind Lucas. She's kind of worried after seeing Riley's face, and she's even more worried when she sees Lucas freeze after seeing who is at the door. She freezes too when she sees who it is, and she can't believe who is standing right in front of them.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asks.

"I'm here to see my daughter."

* * *

 _ **Plot twist! I told you! I hope I surprised y'all! And with that little incident happening (and the fact that we really haven't gotten any closure with Tony), I guess I have to say that there will be a sequel!**_

 _ **This sequel will bring a new challenge for Lucas and Maya. I do plan on writing the first chapter soon, so I hope y'all are ready.**_

 _ **I also will say that I am going to put my other story Friar Family Ties on hold until I get finished with this series because I do want to start the sequel soon.**_


End file.
